''Dioclesian'' (''The Prophetess: or, The History of Dioclesian'') is an English tragicomic

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 ...

in five acts 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 ...

to a

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major li ...

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 ...

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 Diocletian (; la, Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus, grc, Διοκλητιανός, Diokletianós; c. 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed ''Iovius'', was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Gaius Valerius Diocles ...

. 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 Josias Priest (''c.'' 1645 – 3 January 1735 in Chelsea, London) was an English dancer, dancing-master and choreographer. Biography In 1669, Priest was arrested along with four others for dancing and making music without a license. In 1668, he was ...

, 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. The premier production had a Prologue written 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 p ...

that was suppressed after only one performance; it was far too critical of King William's military campaign in Ireland.

Synopsis

The story is ostensibly about the struggle for power in

Ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom ...

, but actually about the universal struggle between love and duty. Delphia, a

prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the ...

ess, foretells that Diocles, a footsoldier, will become emperor after he kills a "mighty

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" and marry Delphia's niece Drusilla, who is in love with him. Diocles takes the prophecy seriously, and starts slaughtering pigs. As it turns out, a soldier called Volutius Aper (Aper=boar) has murdered the old emperor, and Diocles kills Aper in revenge. As a reward for this action he is made co-emperor and renames himself Dioclesian. He ignores his promise to marry Drusilla, and courts his co-emperor's sister the princess Aurelia instead. This angers Delphia, who brings the wedding ceremony to a stop by conjuring a storm and a monster. She then causes the princess to fall in love with Diocles' rival Maximinian, and the

Persians The Persians are an Iranian ethnic group who comprise over half of the population of Iran. They share a common cultural system and are native speakers of the Persian language as well as of the languages that are closely related to Persian. ...

to defeat the Roman army. Diocles realises the error of his ways, routs the invaders, cedes his half of the throne to Maximinian, and moves to

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with Drusilla.

Recordings

*''The Masque in Dioclesian'' Honor Sheppard, Sally LeSarge, Alfred Deller, Phillip Todd,

Maurice Bevan Maurice Bevan (10 March 1921 – 20 June 2006) was a British bass-baritone and composer, who sang with The Deller Consort (founded by Alfred Deller in 1948), St Paul's Cathedral in London, and the BBC.''Daily Telegraph'' (21 July 2006)Obituary: Ma ...

, Choir and Orchestra of the

Concentus Musicus Wien Concentus Musicus Wien (CMW) is an Austrian baroque music ensemble based in Vienna. The CMW is recognized as a pioneer of the period-instrument performance movement. History Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Alice Harnoncourt co-founded the CMW in 1953, ...

. Conducted by Alfred Deller (Vanguard, 1972) *''Timon Of Athens/Dioclesian'', Lynne Dawson, English Baroque Soloists and the Monteverdi Choir conducted by John Eliot Gardiner (Erato, 1988) *''Timon Of Athens/Dioclesian'' Collegium Musicum 90, conducted by Richard Hickox (Chandos, 1995) *''Timon Of Athens/Dioclesian'' The English Concert, conducted by Trevor Pinnock (Archiv, 1995)

References

Notes Sources *Muller, Julia. ''Words and Music in Henry Purcell's First Semi-Opera, 'Dioclesian' '', Edward Mellen Press, Lewiston NY, 1990. *Muller, Frans. ''Flying Dragons and Dancing Chairs at Dorset Garden: Staging 'Dioclesian in ''Theatre Notebook'', vol.XLVII,(1993), no.2. *Muller, Julia and Frans. ''Purcell's 'Dioclesian' on the Dorset Garden Stage'' in ''Performing the Music of Henry Purcell'' ed. Michael Burden, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1996. *Muller, Julia. ''The Prophetess: or, The History of 'Dioclesian'' in ''Henry Purcell's Operas; The Complete Texts'' ed. Michael Burden, Oxford University Press, Oxford,2000 * Curtis Price. "Dioclesian", ''

Grove Music Online ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language '' Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and th ...

'', ed. L. Macy (accessed July 22, 2006)
grovemusic.com
(subscription access).

External links

{{authority control Operas by Henry Purcell English-language operas Semi-operas Operas 1690 operas Cultural depictions of Diocletian