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The Devil To Pay (opera)
''The Devil to Pay'' is a 1731 ballad opera by the Irish writer Charles Coffey and British writer John Mottley. Also known by the longer title ''The Devil to Pay: Or, The Wives Metamorphos'd'', it was part of a group of ballad operas produced in the wake of the success of John Gay's ''The Beggar's Opera''. The work is inspired by Thomas Jevon's 1686 play ''The Devil of a Wife''. The original Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, Drury Lane cast included Theophilus Cibber as Gaffer Dunfork, John Harper (actor), John Harper as Hobson, Richard Charke as Ananias, James Oates as Doctor, Edward Berry (actor), Edward Berry as Butler, Thomas Wright as Footman, Theodosia Mills as Lady Loverule and Kitty Clive as Nell. The published version in 1732 was dedicated to the Lionel Sackville, 1st Duke of Dorset, Duke of Dorset, the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. References Bibliography * Burling, William J. ''A Checklist of New Plays and Entertainments on the London Stage, 1700-1737''. Fairleigh Dickinso ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles Coffey
Charles Coffey (late 17th century – 13 May 1745) was an Irish playwright, opera librettist and arranger of music from Westmeath. Following the initial failure of his ballad opera '' The Beggar’s Wedding'' (Dublin, Smock Alley Theatre, 24 March 1729) - a work capitalising on the success of John Gay's ''The Beggar's Opera'' (1728) - he moved to London, where the work opened at the Haymarket on 29 May 1729. In an abbreviated form as ''Phebe, or The Beggar's Wedding'' it became highly successful, although it was not to be heard in Dublin before 1754. His fifth ballad opera, '' The Devil to Pay, or The Wives Metamorphos'd'' (1731) became the most successful ballad opera of the 18th century after ''The Beggar's Opera''. A German translation as ''Der Teufel ist los, oder Die verwandelten Weiber'' (Berlin, 24 January 1743) strongly influenced the development of the German Singspiel. Coffey died in London and was buried in the St Clement Danes. Works * '' A Wife and No Wife'' (pl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Oates
James Oates (died 1751) was a British stage actor. Possibly of Irish birth, he was a long-standing member of the Drury Lane company from 1718, and also appeared at the summer fairs in London including Southwark and Bartholomew Fair. He specialised in supporting roles, often in comedies. He was with Drury Lane for twenty one seasons, and later also became a tavern-owner alongside his acting duties. Like several actors of the era he was a freemason.Peter His wife and daughter were both actresses. Selected roles * Jeremy in '' The Play is the Plot'' by John Durant Breval (1718) * Thracion in '' The Spartan Dame'' by Thomas Southerne (1719) * Courtly in '' A Wife to be Lett'' by Eliza Haywood (1723) * Citizen in ''Double Falsehood'' by Lewis Theobald (1727) * File in '' The Village Opera'' by Charles Johnson (writer) (1729) * Mopsus in ''Love in a Riddle'' by Colley Cibber (1729) * Dash in '' The Humours of Oxford'' by James Miller (1730) * Bassoon in '' Bayes's Opera'' by Ga ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
English-language Operas
English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the island of Great Britain. Existing on a dialect continuum with Scots, and then closest related to the Low Saxon and Frisian languages, English is genealogically West Germanic. However, its vocabulary is also distinctively influenced by dialects of France (about 29% of Modern English words) and Latin (also about 29%), plus some grammar and a small amount of core vocabulary influenced by Old Norse (a North Germanic language). Speakers of English are called Anglophones. The earliest forms of English, collectively known as Old English, evolved from a group of West Germanic (Ingvaeonic) dialects brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the 5th century and further mutated by Norse-speaking Viking settlers starting in the 8th and 9th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ballad Operas
The ballad opera is a genre of English stage entertainment that originated in the early 18th century, and continued to develop over the following century and later. Like the earlier '' comédie en vaudeville'' and the later '' Singspiel'', its distinguishing characteristic is the use of tunes in a popular style (either pre-existing or newly composed) with spoken dialogue. These English plays were 'operas' mainly insofar as they satirized the conventions of the imported '' opera seria''. Music critic Peter Gammond describes the ballad opera as "an important step in the emancipation of both the musical stage and the popular song." Earliest ballad operas Ballad opera has been called an "eighteenth-century protest against the Italian conquest of the London operatic scene."M. Lubbock, ''The Complete Book of Light Opera'' (New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1962), pp. 467–68 It consists of racy and often satirical spoken (English) dialogue, interspersed with songs that are deliberate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1731 Operas
Events January–March * January 8 – An avalanche from the Skafjell mountain causes a massive wave in the Storfjorden fjord in Norway that sinks all boats that happen to be in the water at the time and kills people on both shores. * January 25 – A fire in Brussels at the Coudenberg Palace, at this time the home of the ruling Austrian Duchess of Brabant, destroys the building, including the state records stored therein."Fires, Great", in ''The Insurance Cyclopeadia: Being an Historical Treasury of Events and Circumstances Connected with the Origin and Progress of Insurance'', Cornelius Walford, ed. (C. and E. Layton, 1876) p49 * February 16 – In China, the Emperor Yongzheng orders grain to be shipped from Hubei and Guangdong to the famine-stricken Shangzhou region of Shaanxi province. * February 20 – Louise Hippolyte becomes only the second woman to serve as Princess of Monaco, the reigning monarch of the tiny European principality, as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lord Lieutenant Of Ireland
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the Kingdom of Ireland (1541–1800) and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1801–1922). The office, under its various names, was often more generally known as the Viceroy, and his wife was known as the vicereine. The government of Ireland in practice was usually in the hands of the Lord Deputy up to the 17th century, and later of the Chief Secretary for Ireland. Role The Lord Lieutenant possessed a number of overlapping roles. He was * the representative of the King (the "viceroy"); * the head of the executive in Ireland; * (on occasion) a member of the English or British Cabinet; * the fount of mercy, justice and patronage; * (on occasion) commander-in-chief in Ireland. * Grand Master of the Order of St. Patrick Prior to the Ac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lionel Sackville, 1st Duke Of Dorset
Lionel Cranfield Sackville, 1st Duke of Dorset (18 January 168810 October 1765) was an English political leader and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. Life He was the son of the 6th Earl of Dorset and 1st Earl of Middlesex, and the former Lady Mary Compton, younger daughter of the 3rd Earl of Northampton. Styled Lord Buckhurst from birth, he succeeded his father as 7th Earl of Dorset and 2nd Earl of Middlesex in 1706, and was created Duke of Dorset in 1720. Perhaps because he had been on a previous diplomatic mission to Hanover, he was chosen to inform George I of his accession to the Crown in August 1714. George I initially favoured him and numerous offices and honours were given to him: Privy Councillor, Knight of the Garter, Groom of the Stole, Lord Steward, Governor of Dover Castle and Warden of the Cinque Ports. At George I's coronation he carried the sceptre: at the coronation of George II he was Lord High Steward and carried St Edward's Crown. He quarrelled with the King in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kitty Clive
Catherine Clive (née Raftor; 5 November 1711 – 6 December 1785) Catherine ‘Kitty’ Clive (1711-1785, active 1728-1769) was a first songster and star comedienne of British playhouse entertainment. Clive led and created new forms of English musical theatre. She was celebrated both in high-style parts – singing, for instance, Handel’s music for her in ''Messiah'', ''Samson'', and ''The Way of the World'' – and in low-style ballad opera roles. Her likeness was printed and traded in unprecedented volume. She championed women’s rights throughout her career. An image crisis in the late 1740s forced Clive to quit serious song and instead lampoon herself on stage. Though this self-ridicule won Clive public favour back, and she reigned as first comedienne until her retirement in 1769, the strategy’s very success caused her musical legacy to be slighted and forgotten. A definitive biography of Clive by Berta Joncus appeared in 2019. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edward Berry (actor)
Edward Berry (1706-1760) was a British stage actor. He was a long-standing member of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, Drury Lane company, appearing frequently with David Garrick.Marshall & Kishi p.462 Selected roles * Hobinol in ''The Village Opera'' by Charles Johnson (writer), Charles Johnson (1729) * Pantomine in ''Bayes's Opera'' by Gabriel Odingsells (1730) * Butler in ''The Devil to Pay (opera), The Devil to Pay'' by Charles Coffey (1731) * Gentleman in ''Caelia (play), Caelia'' by Charles Johnson (writer), Charles Johnson (1732) * Sparke in ''The Miser (Fielding play), The Miser'' by Henry Fielding (1733) * Valeius Publicola in ''Junius Brutus (play), Junius Brutus'' by William Duncombe (1734) * Don Lopez in ''Trick for Trick (1735 play), Trick for Trick'' by Robert Fabian (1735) * Osmyn in ''The Christian Hero'' by George Lillo (1735) * Chatillon in ''Zara (play), Zara'' by Aaron Hill (writer), Aaron Hill (1736) * Byron in ''The Universal Passion'' by James Miller (playwright ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Charke
Richard Charke (c. 1709 – c. 1738) was an English violinist, composer, operatic baritone, and playwright. Charke was born in London. He initially worked as a dancing-master before being appointed by Colley Cibber as leader of the orchestra at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in 1729. Soon thereafter, he began performing as a solo violinist and singing in small roles at the theatre. He eventually graduated to lead roles in the musical productions at Drury Lane, starring in such productions as Henry Carey (writer), Henry Carey’s ''The Contrivances'' (1729) and Cibber’s ''Damon and Phillida'' (1729). Charke possessed a good sense of humor and had a talent for wit, which he ultimately made use of in pantomimes, mostly as a composer but also as a writer. He wrote several amusing "Medley Overtures" that became highly popular for pantomime performances during the 1730s and 1740s. He authored only one pantomime, ''Harlequin Restored, or, The Country Revels,'' which contained musi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Mottley
John Mottley (1692–1750) was an English writer, known as a dramatist, biographer, and compiler of jokes. Life He was the son of Colonel Thomas Mottley, a Jacobite adherent of James II in his exile, who entered the service of Louis XIV, and was killed at the battle of Turin in 1706; his mother was Dionisia, daughter of John Guise of Ablode Court, Gloucestershire. John was born in London, was educated at Archbishop Thomas Tenison's grammar school in the parish of St Martin-in-the-Fields, and obtained a clerkship in the excise office in 1708. He was compelled to resign his post in 1720, and from that time gained a precarious subsistence by his pen. He died in 1750, having for some years previously been almost bedridden with gout. Works He made his debut as a dramatic author with a tragedy in the pseudo-classic style, entitled '' The Imperial Captives'', the scene of which is laid at Carthage, in the time of Genseric, who with the Empress Eudoxia and her daughter plays a princi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
