SHAKESPEARE

Synopsis

Henry Purcell’s ‘semi-opera’ is broadcast as part of a music anthology series about the composer. Anthony Lewis conducts The Boyd Neel Orchestra and the BBC Singers.

Series

Purcell Anthology

Language

English

Country

Great Britain

Medium

Radio

Transmission details

30 Nov 1947 at 18:00 (Channel: BBC Third Programme)

Duration

60 mins

Availability

No archive copy known

Credits

Writer

Thomas Shadwell

Editor

Anthony Lewis

Music

Henry Purcell

Cast

David Franklin
Margaret Field-Hyde
Margaret Ritchie
Robert Bristol

Additional Details

Production type

Operas and Musicals

Plays

Tempest, The

Subjects

Drama; Music

Keywords

opera; Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)

Notes

General

Purcell’s music for The Tempest was part of an already established tradition of reinventing Shakespeare’s plays for the musical stage. According to Classical Work Reviews (Answers.com), English playwright "Thomas Shadwell revised John Dryden’s version in 1674, inserting two masques with musical contributions from several composers, most importantly, Matthew Locke. This seems to have been the preferred version until sometime in the 1690s, when it was supplanted by a new, Italianate setting, anonymous but ultimately attributed to Purcell."

History

Last programme in an eight-part musical anthology series on Henry Purcell edited by Anthony Lewis.

Textual information

Based on Thomas Shadwell’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s play.

Reviews

For more information on Purcell’s engagement with the play cf. "The Tempest, or, The Enchanted Island, semi-opera, Z. 631." Classical Work Reviews. All Media Guide, 2006. Answers.com 05 Sep. 2006. http://www.answers.com/topic/the-tempest-or-the-enchanted-island-semi-opera-z-631 (accessed 5 September 2006)

Production Company

Name

BBC

Notes

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)