''The Indian Queen'' (Z. 630) is a largely unfinished

semi-opera The terms "semi-opera", "dramatic opera" and "English opera" were all applied to Restoration entertainments that combined spoken plays with masque-like episodes employing singing and dancing characters. They usually included machines in the manne ...

with music by

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 ...

, first performed at the

Theatre Royal, Drury Lane The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) and backs onto Dr ...

, London, in 1695. The exact date is unknown, but Peter Holman surmises it may have been in June. It was created as a revised version of the 1664 play '' The Indian Queen'', in a prologue and five acts, by

John Dryden '' John Dryden (; – ) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate. He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the per ...

and his brother-in-law Sir Robert Howard. More specifically, in 1694,

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 ...

was given £50 to transform the play into an opera, and he commissioned Purcell to compose the music. Purcell, who died in November 1695, left music only for the Prologue and Acts II and III. His brother

Daniel Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength" ...

completed a masque for Act V.Peter Holman ''Henry Purcell'' (Oxford University Press, 1994) p.219 ''The Indian Queen'' is one of Purcell's less often performed stage works. This is probably more a reflection of the incomplete state of the score than of its quality.

Sellars' 2013 realization

In the twenty-first century there was a major new production by Tchaikovsky Perm Opera and Ballet Theatre (

Perm Perm or PERM may refer to: Places *Perm, Russia, a city in Russia ** Permsky District, the district **Perm Krai, a federal subject of Russia since 2005 **Perm Oblast, a former federal subject of Russia 1938–2005 **Perm Governorate, an administra ...

Teatro Real The Teatro Real (Royal Theatre) is an opera house in Madrid, Spain. Located at the Plaza de Oriente, opposite the Royal Palace of Madrid, Royal Palace, and known colloquially as ''El Real'', it is considered the top institution of the performing a ...

(Madrid), and

English National Opera English National Opera (ENO) is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera. ENO's productions are sung in English ...

(London).

Peter Sellars Peter Sellars (born September 27, 1957) is an American theatre director, noted for his unique contemporary stagings of classical and contemporary operas and plays. Sellars is professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where ...

completely rewrote the text to tell the story of the Spanish

Conquista Spain began colonizing the Americas under the Crown of Castile and was spearheaded by the Spanish . The Americas were invaded and incorporated into the Spanish Empire, with the exception of Brazil, British America, and some small regions of ...

. He drew on a book by the Nicaraguan writer

Rosario Aguilar Rosario E. Aguilar (ca. 1792 – 1847) was an early settler of San Diego, California. Life Aguilar was born around 1792 in Spain. He was corporal of the mission guard at San Diego, and had a house on site of the present town, in 1821. In 1827 ...

. This version, with designs by

Gronk ''grOnk'', or GRoNK, was a Canadian literary magazine begun in 1967 by bpNichol and others (for example, David Aylward, David W. Harris (later David UU; co-editor for the first series (8 issues, 1967), and editor of most of the seventh series ( ...

, was premiered at Perm in 2013. It was performed at the Teatro Real in 2014, when Sellars said spectators who responded negatively, especially to the end of the first part where Indians are machine-gunned by Spanish soldiers, “don’t understand that a work like this is about trying to complete a journey together through difficult issues and history.”

Synopsis

Some years before the Spanish Conquest in

Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most of Central America. It extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica. W ...

—the court then war conflict between kings of Peru and Mexico.

Musical numbers

*Movt. 1, 1st Music, (Air and Hornpipe) *Movt. 2, 2nd Music, (Air and Hornpipe) *Movt. 3, Overture, (Grave and Canzon) *Prologue **Movt. 4a, Trumpet Tune **Movt. 4b, Aria, "Wake Quivera, wake" **Movt. 4c, Prelude **Movt. 4d, Aria, "Why should men quarrel" *Act 2 **Movt. 5, Symphony **Movt. 6, Aria and Chorus, "I come to sing great Zempoalla's story" **Movt. 7, Trio, "What flatt'ring noise is this" **Movt. 8, Trumpet tune **Movt. 9, Symphony **Movt. 10, Dance **Movt. 11, 2nd Act Music (Trumpet Tune reprise) *Act 3 **Movt. 12, Dance **Movt. 13, Aria, "Ye twice ten hundred deities" **Movt. 14, Symphony **Movt. 15, Aria, "Seek not to know what must not be reveal'd" **Movt. 16, Trumpet Overture (Canzon and Adagio) **Movt. 17a, Duet and Quartet, "Ah! Ah! How happy are we!" **Movt. 18, 3rd Act Tune (Rondeau) **Movt. 19, Aria, "They tell us that you mighty powers above" **Movt. 20, 4th Act Tune **Movt. 21a, Prelude and Chorus, "While thus we bow before your shrine" **Movt. 21b, Aria, "You who at the altar stand" **Movt. 21c, Prelude **Movt. 21d, Chorus, "All dismal sounds thus on these off'rings wait" **Movt. 22, Air

Recordings

*''The Indian Queen'' Soloists, St. Anthony Singers,

English Chamber Orchestra The English Chamber Orchestra (ECO) is a British chamber orchestra based in London. The full orchestra regularly plays concerts at Cadogan Hall, and their ensemble performs at Wigmore Hall. The orchestra regularly tours in the UK and internationall ...

, conducted by

Charles Mackerras Mackerras in 2005 Sir Alan Charles MacLaurin Mackerras (; 1925 2010) was an Australian conductor. He was an authority on the operas of Janáček and Mozart, and the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan. He was long associated with the Eng ...

(Decca L'Oiseau-Lyre, 1966) *''The Indian Queen'' Soloists, Deller Singers, King's Musick, conducted by

Alfred Deller Alfred George Deller, CBE (31 May 1912 – 16 July 1979), was an English singer and one of the main figures in popularising the return of the countertenor voice in Renaissance and Baroque music during the 20th century. He is sometimes referr ...

(Harmonia Mundi) *''The Indian Queen'' Soloists,

Monteverdi Choir The Monteverdi Choir was founded in 1964 by Sir John Eliot Gardiner for a performance of the ''Vespro della Beata Vergine'' in King's College Chapel, Cambridge. A specialist Baroque ensemble, the Choir has become famous for its stylistic convic ...

English Baroque Soloists The English Baroque Soloists is a chamber orchestra playing on period instruments, formed in 1978 by English conductor Sir John Eliot Gardiner. Its repertoire comprises music from the early Baroque to the Classical period. History The English B ...

, conducted by

John Eliot Gardiner Sir John Eliot Gardiner (born 20 April 1943) is an English conductor, particularly known for his performances of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach. Life and career Born in Fontmell Magna, Dorset, son of Rolf Gardiner and Marabel Hodgkin, Gard ...

(Erato, 1980) *''The Indian Queen'' Soloists,

Academy of Ancient Music The Academy of Ancient Music (AAM) is a British period-instrument orchestra based in Cambridge, England. Founded by harpsichordist Christopher Hogwood in 1973, it was named after an 18th-century organisation of the same name (originally the A ...

, conducted by

Christopher Hogwood Christopher Jarvis Haley Hogwood (10 September 194124 September 2014) was an English conductor, harpsichordist, writer, and musicologist. Founder of the early music ensemble the Academy of Ancient Music, he was an authority on historically info ...

(Decca L'Oiseau-Lyre, 1995) *''The Indian Queen'' Soloists, The Purcell Simfony and the Purcell Simfony Voices (Linn, 1995) *''The Indian Queen'' Soloists, Scholars' Baroque Ensemble (Naxos, 1998) *''The Indian Queen'' Soloists, London Chamber Singers, London Chamber Orchestra. conducted by Anthony Bernard)(Music Guild MS-124, 196x?)

References

;Notes ;Sources *Holden, Amanda (Ed.), ''The New Penguin Opera Guide'', New York: Penguin Putnam, 2001 *Warrack, John and West, Ewan, ''The Oxford Dictionary of Opera'' New York: OUP: 1992

External links

About plot

{{DEFAULTSORT:Indian Queen Opera 1695 operas Operas by Henry Purcell English-language operas Operas Operas set in North America Operas set in Mexico