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Henry Purcell 1659–1695

John Dryden 1631–1700

King Arthur, subtitled "The British Worthy", is an opera in five acts, with a libretto by John Dryden and music by Henry Purcell. The opera was first performed at the Queen's Theatre, Dorset Garden, London, in late May or early June of 1691^[1]. The plot is based on the battles between King Arthur's Britons and the Saxons, rather than the legends of Camelot (although Merlin does make an appearance). It is a Restoration spectacular^[2] , including such supernatural characters as Cupid and Venus references to the Germanic gods of the Saxons, Woden, Thor, and Freya. The tale centres on Arthur's endeavours to recover his fiancée, the blind Cornish Princess Emmeline, who has been abducted by his arch-enemy, the Saxon King Oswald of Kent.

King Arthur is a dramatic-opera or semi-opera in that the principal characters do not sing, except if they are supernatural, pastoral or drunk. They are sung 'for' by secondary characters. The protagonists are actors, as a great deal of King Arthur consists of spoken text.^[3] This is normal practice in 17th century English opera. King Arthur contains some of Purcell's most lyrical music, much of it inspired by French dance rhythms and adventurous (for the day) harmonies.

In Act I we are introduced to Arthur and his Emmeline and the Saxons, on the eve of their battle against the Britons under Arthur. The Saxons are led by Oswald, King of Kent and his magician Osmond. They sacrifice, in the first musical scene and the battle begins.
In Act II we see the good Spirit Philidel and the bad Spirit Grimbald. Grimbald tries to lead Arthur's army astray, but Philidel prevents this. The scene changes to show us Emmeline, who is entertained by singing shepherds and shepherdesses. Then she and her attendant Matilda are captured by the Saxons.
The third act contains a masque, becoming a play within a play, and is chiefly concerned with how true love can thaw the frigid heart. Purcell's music here is at its most evocative. Quivering, almost shivering, notes suit the icy atmosphere of the scene. The source of Purcell's inspiration for this cold chorus was Lully's music for the fifth act of the opera Isis (1677).^[4]
In Act IV Arthur and Merlin continue to look for Emmeline. This act contains the famous scene in which Two Daughters of this Aged Stream, standing in the water and naked to the waist, try to seduce Arthur from his quest. They fail.
The final act resolves the plot in favor of the Bold Britons and Arthur offers his rival Oswald peace. The play ends with a nationalistic masque, including Fairest Isle. The plot contains an allegory of the contemporary political situation in England during the reign of William and Mary, as can be seen from the reference to Dutch William as Foreign Kings adopted here in the concluding song.

The first staged performance of King Arthur in the United States took place in 1968, in what is now the Woodruff Arts Center, then called the Memorial Arts Center, located in Atlanta, Georgia. It was performed by the Alliance Theatre, as well as several operatic soloists.

• Davies, H. Neville, "King Arthur: or, The British Worthy" in Henry Purcell's Operas, The Complete Texts, ed. Michael Burden, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2000.
• Dent, Edward J. Foundations of English Opera, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1928.
• van Lennep et.al. [eds] William, The London Stage, parts 1 (1965) and 2 (1959), Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale.
• Moore, R. E. Henry Purcell and the Restoration Theatre, Greenwood Press, Westport CT, 1961.
• Price, Curtis A. Henry Purcell and the London Stage,Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1984.
• Sawkins, Lionel, "trembleurs and Cold People: How Should They Shiver?" ,Performing the Music of Henry Purcell ed. Michael Burden, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1996.
  

• King Arthur St Anthony Singers, Philomusica of London, conducted by Sir Anthony Lewis (Decca)
• King Arthur English Baroque Soloists, Monteverdi Choir, conducted by John Eliot Gardiner (Erato, 1985)
• King Arthur Les Arts Florissants, conducted by William Christie (Erato, 1995)
• King Arthur The English Concert and Choir, Trevor Pinnock (Archiv, 1999)
• King Arthur Le Concert Spirituel, conducted by Hervé Niquet (Glossa, 2004)
• http://www.trinitywallstreet.org/calendar/index.php?event_id=40722