Directed by James Johnstone

John Blow

Venus and Adonis

Guildhall Cantata Ensemble present the last opera/masque composed for the Stuart court, Venus and Adonis by John Blow.
It was written for a private performance at the court of King Charles II during 1683. Its structure and style show influence from contemporary operas from France, and there is no doubt it inspired Henry Purcell, Blow’s student, to compose his opera Dido and Aeneas.

While English opera was relatively new, there was a long tradition of performing masques at the court, stretching back to the time of Henry VIII. A masque was a spoken play, often with elaborate staging, which contained musical ‘interludes’, made up of solo songs, choruses and dances. Although professional actors and musicians would perform the masque, it was traditional for members of the court to take part in the singing and dancing. This is the case with Venus and Adonis as at the first performance of the opera at court the part of Venus was played by one of the king’s former mistresses, Mary “Moll” Davis, while Cupid was played by the 10-year-old Lady Mary Tudor, their illegitimate daughter.

The story is based on the Classical myth of Venus and Adonis, which was also the basis for Shakespeare’s poem as well as Ovid’s poem of the same name in his Metamorphoses.