''Achilles'' is a

ballad opera The ballad opera is a genre of England, English ''comic opera'' stage play that originated in the early 18th century, and continued to develop over the following century and later. Like the earlier ''comédie en vaudeville'' and the later ''Sings ...

John Gay John Gay (30 June 1685 – 4 December 1732) was an English poet and dramatist and member of the Scriblerus Club. He is best remembered for ''The Beggar's Opera'' (1728), a ballad opera. The characters, including Captain Macheath and Polly Peach ...

, first performed at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden in 1733, a year after Gay's death, with Gay's associate John Rich as producer.

Background

The opera is a burlesque parody of the story of Achilles on

Skyros Skyros (, ), in some historical contexts Romanization of Greek, Latinized Scyros (, ), is an island in Greece. It is the southernmost island of the Sporades, an archipelago in the Aegean Sea. Around the 2nd millennium BC, the island was known as ...

, based on legends of Achilles as related by Bion,

Ovid Publius Ovidius Naso (; 20 March 43 BC – AD 17/18), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a younger contemporary of Virgil and Horace, with whom he i ...

, and

Statius Publius Papinius Statius (Greek language, Greek: Πόπλιος Παπίνιος Στάτιος; , ; ) was a Latin poetry, Latin poet of the 1st century CE. His surviving poetry includes an epic in twelve books, the ''Thebaid (Latin poem), Theb ...

(notably the latter's ''

Achilleid The ''Achilleid'' (; ) is an unfinished epic poem by Publius Papinius Statius that was intended to present the life of Achilles from his youth to his death at Troy. Only about one and a half books (1,127 dactylic hexameters) were completed befor ...

''). Unsuccessful attempts were made at the time to interpret the work as a political satire (as was Gay's ''

The Beggar's Opera ''The Beggar's Opera'' is a ballad opera in three acts written in 1728 by John Gay with music arranged by Johann Christoph Pepusch. It is one of the watershed plays in Augustan drama and is the only example of the once thriving genre of sati ...

'') but no convincing case has been made for this. Unlike ''The Beggar's Opera'' and Gay's other ballad opera, ''

Polly Polly is a given name, most often feminine, which originated as a variant of Molly (name), Molly (a diminutive of Mary (name), Mary). Polly may also be a short form of names such as Polina (given name), Polina, Polona (given name), Polona, Pauline ...

'', ''Achilles'' uses not only tunes from popular music, but also employs melodies from concertante works of

Arcangelo Corelli Arcangelo Corelli (, also , ; ; 17 February 1653 – 8 January 1713) was an List of Italian composers, Italian composer and violinist of the middle Baroque music, Baroque era. His music was key in the development of the modern genres of Sonata a ...

. ''Achilles'' proved popular; the first performance alone brought John Rich over £200, and the opera ran for over a month after its premiere on 10 February 1733.

Roles

Synopsis

The opera takes place on the isle of

, (called "Scyros" in the

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...

Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus () was a hero of the Trojan War who was known as being the greatest of all the Greek warriors. The central character in Homer's ''Iliad'', he was the son of the Nereids, Nereid Thetis and Peleus, ...

is disguised by his mother the goddess

Thetis Thetis ( , or ; ) is a figure from Greek mythology with varying mythological roles. She mainly appears as a sea nymph, a goddess of water, and one of the 50 Nereids, daughters of the ancient sea god Nereus. When described as a Nereid in Cl ...

as Pyrrha, a woman, in an attempt to prevent him going to

Troy Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...

, where she is convinced he will die. However, he falls in love with Deidamia, the daughter of the island's king,

Lycomedes In Greek mythology, Lycomedes (), also known as Lycurgus (mythology), Lycurgus, was the most prominent king of the Dolopians in the island of Skyros, Scyros near Euboea during the Trojan War. Family Lycomedes was the father of seven daughters ...

. Various misunderstandings follow, including an attempt by Lycomedes to rape "Pyrrha". Lycomedes's wife, Theaspe, seeks to dispose of "Pyrrha" by marrying "her" to her nephew Periphas; at which Achilles complains "I have no sooner escap'd being ravish'd but I am immediately to be made a Wife". Deidamia becomes pregnant, and Ulysses recognizes Achilles. The truth is out and Achilles and Deidamia marry; Achilles then leaves to take part in the Trojan Wars.Lewis (1972), pp. 20–21.

References

Citations Sources *Baldwin, Olive and Thelma Wilson (2008)
"Norsa, Hannah"
in ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...

'' online, accessed 3 July 2017 . *Gay, John (1733)
''Achilles: an opera''
London: J. Watts. In

University of North Texas The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public university, public research university located in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Its main campus is in Denton, Texas, Denton, with a satellite campus in Frisco, Texas, Frisco. It serves as the ...

digital library, accessed 4 July 2017. *Lewis, Peter Elfed (1972)
"John Gay's 'Achilles': The Burlesque Element"
in ''Ariel'', vol. 3 no. 1, pp. 17-28, accessed 4 July 2017. *Winton, Calhoun (2015). ''John Gay and the London Theatre.'' Lexington: University Press of Kentucky. {{John Gay Operas Works by John Gay 1733 operas Ballad operas English-language operas Operas set in mythological places Opera world premieres at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden Cultural depictions of Achilles Works based on the Iliad Operas based on works by Homer Operas based on Metamorphoses