Dioclesian
Sign in to saveAlso known as The Prophetess, The Prophetess, or The History of Dioclesian
Dioclesian (The Prophetess: or, The History of Dioclesian) is an English tragicomic semi-opera in five acts by Henry Purcell to a libretto by Thomas Betterton based on the play The Prophetess, by John Fletcher and Philip Massinger, which in turn was based very loosely on the life of the Emperor Diocletian. It was premiered in late May 1690 at the Queen's Theatre, Dorset Garden. The play was first produced in 1622. Choreography for the various dances was provided by Josias Priest, who worked with Purcell on several other semi-operas.
Wikidata facts
- Genre
- semi-opera
- Composer
- Henry Purcell
- Librettist
- Thomas Betterton
Show 5 more facts
- date of first performance
- 1690-00-00
- language of work or name
- English language
- location of first performance
- Dorset Garden Theatre
- Commons category
- The Prophetess, or The History of Dioclesian
- form of creative work
- opera
via Wikidata · CC0
~4 min read
Encyclopedic overview
5 sectionsContents
- Synopsis
- Instrumentation
- Recordings
- References
- External links
Dioclesian (The Prophetess: or, The History of Dioclesian) is an English tragicomic semi-opera in five acts by Henry Purcell to a libretto by Thomas Betterton based on the play The Prophetess, by John Fletcher and Philip Massinger, which in turn was based very loosely on the life of the Emperor Diocletian. It was premiered in late May 1690 at the Queen's Theatre, Dorset Garden. The play was first produced in 1622. Choreography for the various dances was provided by Josias Priest, who worked with Purcell on several other semi-operas.
Betterton reworked the play extensively, making room for a great deal of Purcell's music, notably in the 'monster' scene at the end of Act II and the final Masque about the victory of Love, which remained popular until well into the eighteenth century.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Dioclesian” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.