''Abdelazer; or, The Moor's Revenge'' ( or ) is a 1676 play by

Aphra Behn Aphra Behn (; bapt. 14 December 1640 – 16 April 1689) was an English playwright, poet, prose writer and translator from the Restoration era. As one of the first English women to earn her living by her writing, she broke cultural barrie ...

, an adaptation of the c. 1600

tragedy Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy ...

Lust's Dominion ''Lust's Dominion, or The Lascivious Queen'' is an English Renaissance stage play, a tragedy written perhaps around 1600, probably by Thomas Dekker in collaboration with others and first published in 1657. The play has been categorized as a rev ...

''. It is Behn's only tragic play.

Plot

Abdelazer is a captive

Moor Moor or Moors may refer to: Nature and ecology * Moorland, a habitat characterized by low-growing vegetation and acidic soils. Ethnic and religious groups * Moors, Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, Iberian Peninsula, Sicily, and Malta during ...

living at the court of King Philip of Spain, who had killed his father some years earlier. Abdelazer seeks revenge, and becomes the lover of the Queen. Together, they poison King Phillip, and also murder the young King Ferdinand. Abdelazer and the Queen try to disinherit Prince Philip, the rightful heir. Another Moor, Osmin, warns the Prince and Cardinal Mendozo to flee. During subsequent battles, Mendozo (who is in love with the Queen) abandons Philip and is even persuaded falsely to admit to being Philip's father. Abdelazer betrays the Queen and has her murdered by one of his henchmen. He courts and tries to rape Princess Leonora (she is saved by Osmin), but rapidly falls from power. The Queen is killed, and Abdelazer is captured with Osmin's help. Mendoza repents, Philip ascends the throne, and Abdelazer is killed.

Comparison with source material

Behn's version of the Queen is more powerful, domineering and unrepentant than her counterpart in ''Lust's Dominion.'' ''Lusťs Dominion'' relies on the racist stereotype of the lustful, scheming, and bloodthirsty Moor, and closed with the new King Philip ordering the expulsion of all the Moors from Spain because of their supposed wickedness. However, Behn minimises and complicates this stereotype. She gives the character of Osmin a larger and more positive role, which helps 'to balance the villainous Abdelazer' and makes the most evil of Abdelazer's henchmen white.

Reception

The earliest recorded performance of the play was on 3 July 1676 at the

Dorset Garden Theatre The Dorset Garden Theatre in London, built in 1671, was in its early years also known as the Duke of York's Theatre, or the Duke's Theatre. In 1685, King Charles II died and his brother, the Duke of York, was crowned as James II. When the D ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. Staged by the

Duke's Company The Duke's Company was a theatre company chartered by King Charles II at the start of the Restoration era, 1660. Sir William Davenant was manager of the company under the patronage of Prince James, Duke of York. During hats period, theatres b ...

the cast included

Thomas Betterton Thomas Patrick Betterton (August 1635 – 28 April 1710), the leading male actor and theatre manager during Restoration England, son of an under-cook to King Charles I, was born in London. Apprentice and actor Betterton was born in August 16 ...

as Abdelazer, Henry Harris as Ferdinand, William Smith as Philip,

Matthew Medbourne Matthew Medbourne (died 1680) was an English stage actor and occasional playwright of the Restoration era. A long-standing member of the Duke's Theatre, Medbourne was a victim of the Popish Plot scare and died in Newgate Prison. Medbourne was a ...

as Mendozo, John Crosby as Alonzo, Henry Norris as Roderigo,

Thomas Percival Thomas Percival (29 September 1740 – 30 August 1804) was an English physician, health reformer, ethicist and author who wrote an early code of medical ethics. He drew up a pamphlet with the code in 1794 and wrote an expanded version in 18 ...

as Osmin, Mary Lee as Isbaella,

Mary Betterton Mary Saunderson (1637–1712), later known as Mary Saunderson Betterton after her marriage to Thomas Betterton, was an actress and singer in England during the 1660s and 1690s. She is considered one of the first English actresses. Stage career ...

as Florella and Margaret Osborne as Elvira. ''Abdelazer'' flopped in 1695, and thereafter disappeared from the stage, but its influence survived in Edward Young's 1721 tragedy '' The Revenge''.

Music

The composer

Henry Purcell Henry Purcell (, rare: September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer. Purcell's style of Baroque music was uniquely English, although it incorporated Italian and French elements. Generally considered among the greatest E ...

wrote

incidental music Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, or some other presentation form that is not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as t ...

(Z 570) for a revival in the summer of 1695, with movements: The rondeau was used by

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

as the theme for his set of variations ''

The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra ''The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra'', Op. 34, is a 1945 musical composition by Benjamin Britten with a subtitle ''Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Purcell''. It was based on the second movement, "Rondeau", of the ''Abdelazer'' suit ...

'' (1946). It was also used as the closing theme of the television series ''

The First Churchills ''The First Churchills'' is a BBC serial from 1969 about the life of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, and his wife, Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough. It stars John Neville as the duke and Susan Hampshire as the duchess, was writt ...

'' (1969), as the intro song for Intellivision video game ''

Thunder Castle Thunder is the sound caused by lightning. Depending upon the distance from and nature of the lightning, it can range from a long, low rumble to a sudden, loud crack. The sudden increase in temperature and hence pressure caused by the lightning pr ...

'' (1986), and may be heard as dancing music at the Netherfield ball in the 2005 production of ''

Pride and Prejudice ''Pride and Prejudice'' is an 1813 novel of manners by Jane Austen. The novel follows the character development of Elizabeth Bennet, the dynamic protagonist of the book who learns about the repercussions of hasty judgments and comes to appreci ...

''. The Britten arrangement is used as a recurrent motif in the 2012 film ''

Moonrise Kingdom ''Moonrise Kingdom'' is a 2012 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by Wes Anderson, written by Anderson and Roman Coppola, and starring Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Jason Schwartzman, ...

''.

Notes

References

External links

* *
Purcell works
2009-10-24) {{Authority control 1676 plays Plays by Aphra Behn Incidental music Compositions by Henry Purcell 1695 compositions