''Clementina'' is a
tragic play
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 i ...
by the
Irish writer Hugh Kelly. It was first staged at
Covent Garden Theatre
The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Op ...
in February 1771. The plot follows a young Italian woman Clementina's marriage to Rinaldo despite her father's opposition to the wedding as he had wished her to marry Palermo. It ends with Palmero killing Rinaldo, and Clementina committing suicide in her despair.
In the ''History of Drama'' Allardyce Nicoll describes it as "a poor dull pseudo-classic production, in spite of its Italian scene".
[Nicoll p.79-80] The original cast included
Mary Ann Yates
Mary Ann Yates (1728–1787) was an English tragic actress. The daughter of William Graham, a ship's steward and his wife, Mary, she married Richard Yates (c. 1706-1796), a well-known comedian of the time.
In 1754, aged 25, she appeared at Drur ...
as Clementina,
Robert Bensley
Robert Bensley (c. 1740 – 1817) was an 18th-century English actor, of whom Charles Lamb in the ''Essays of Elia'' speaks with special praise.
Life
His early life is obscure, but his family was not poor: an uncle, Sir William Bensley, was ...
as Granville and
Richard Wroughton
Richard Wroughton (1748–1822), was an actor, who worked mainly in Covent Garden (now the Royal Opera house) and Drury Lane (now the Theatre Royal), and occasional in the city of his birth, Bath.
Acting at Covent Garden
He was born in 1748, ...
as Palermo.
References
Bibliography
* Nicoll, Allardyce. ''A History of English Drama 1660-1900. Volume III: Late Eighteenth Century Drama''. Cambridge University Press, 1952.
Plays by Hugh Kelly (poet)
1771 plays
Tragedy plays
West End plays
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