The Indian Queen (Sir Robert Howard and John Dryden)

5 Annotations

First Reading

Michael Robinson  •  Link

Copy in the Pepysian Library

Howard, Robert, Sir, 1626-1698.
Four new plays, viz: The surprisal, committee, comedies. The Indian-queen, Vestal-virgin, tragedies. As they were acted by His Majesties Servants at the Theatre-Royal. Written by the honourable Sir Robert Howard. Imprimatur, March 7. 1664/5. Roger L'Estrange.
London : printed for Henry Herringman, and are to be sold at his shop at the Blew-Anchor in the lower walk of the New-Exchange, 1665.
[12], 242, [2] p. ; 2⁰.

Each play has separate title page. "To the reader" contains a discussion of the use of rhyme in dramatic verse, which occasioned Dryden's Essay of dramatick poesie. Howard replied in the preface to "The great favourite, or, The Duke of Lerma.". "The Indian queen" is partly by Dryden. Cf. DNB.
Wing (CD-ROM, 1996),H2995, Macdonald, H. Dryden,68a

Michael Robinson  •  Link

Per Bradford "The Indian Queen"
from the noted critic Andrew Porter, in the June 2006 issue of "Opera," pp. 718-19:

The play (1664) is by Dryden and his brother-in-law Richard Howard. With geographical and historical freedoms and in high heroic couplets they presented conflicts martial and emotional between the Peruvian Inca, his daughter Orazia, his general Montezuma, and the usurping and the lawful Queens of Mexico, Zempoalla and Amexia. In the last act, a killing and two suicides clear the way for the marriage of Montezuma, revealed to be the long-lost Mexican crown prince, and the Inca's daughter. Pizarro and Cortez arrive in Dryden's 1667 sequel, "The Indian Emperor, or the Conquest of Mexico."

The 1664 "Indian Queen" was lavish: Evelyn called it "a tragedy so beautiful with rich scenes, as the like had never been seen her"; Pepys called it "a most pleasant show". John Bannister wrote the music; and the king lent his 24 Violins. For a 1695 revival, Purcell was engaged as the new composer [but his untimely death required the work to be completed by his brother Daniel]... .

http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1…

Second Reading

Bill  •  Link

The Indian Queen (Z. 630), is a semi-opera in five acts with music by Henry Purcell, first performed at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London in 1695. The libretto is a revised version of the play "The Indian Queen" (1664) by John Dryden and his brother-in-law Sir Robert Howard.
It was Purcell's last semi-opera. The performance history of the piece is uncertain. The exact date of premiere is unknown but Peter Holman surmises it may have been performed in June, without the Masque in Act 5, which had to be completed after Purcell's death in November by his brother Daniel.
---Wikipedia

H. Purcell: «The Indian Queen» Z. 630 [Academy of Ancient Music] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-…

Log in to post an annotation.

If you don't have an account, then register here.

References

Chart showing the number of references in each month of the diary’s entries.

1664

1668