The Mystery of England's First Great Opera: Nahum Tate, Dido, and Womanhood Pubblico

Abstract

Written in Restoration England in the 1680s by famed composer Henry Purcell (1659-1695) and maligned librettist Nahum Tate (1652-1715), England’s first great opera, the tragic love story Dido and Aeneas, was completely original in many regards. Its plot and characterization of Dido, Queen of Carthage, as a simultaneously empowered, sexually unashamed, sympathetic, and mature heroine significantly veered from the three classical Dido traditions. Ancient Roman poet Virgil’s “mad” Dido, his contemporary Ovid’s “sympathetic yet pathetic” Dido, and the “chaste Dido” of Italian Renaissance humanists all forwarded sexist ideals that diminished Dido’s power. Further, the opera’s empowered depiction of Dido strayed from theatrical depictions of women in Restoration and post-Restoration tragedy, the Restoration lasting from the 1660s to the 1680s. In the so-called “she-tragedy” genre, female heroines generally had to be pathetic. Maybe they went mad because a man left them, or they had their purity stolen. The seventeenth-century European theatrical world was concerned with adhering to literary traditions, theatrical conventions, and standards for gender. So, what inspired the opera’s original depiction of Dido as a woman who acted with agency, was unashamed of her sexual behavior, and remained sympathetic and even heroic? Previous scholarship solely attributes the opera’s originality to political allegory, which is impossible to do. Due to paltry evidence, all we know is that the opera probably was written between 1684 and 1689, and there were three different monarchical reigns during that short period. Scholars ignore contemporary standards for theater and womanhood when they discuss the opera. Further, the scholars focus on Purcell instead of Tate. Thus, this thesis explores Nahum Tate’s background and influences in tandem with the opera’s scant contemporary performance history, typical depictions of women onstage in later-Stuart society, and broader standards of womanhood to uncover the real meaning behind this opera and reveal how theatrical representations of women and female sexuality reflected and reinforced standards of womanhood in later-Stuart England (1660-1714). While grounded in historical analysis, this interdisciplinary thesis engages with the academic fields of theater, gender, literature, and musicology. Finally, my experience as a trained opera singer informs my approach to Dido’s character. 

Table of Contents

Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………… 1

Part 1: The Mystery …………………………………………………………………… 10

Part 2: International Influence ……………………………………………………… 26

Part 3: Nahum Tate, The Lost Librettist …………………………………………. 35

Part 4: Dido as a Symbol of Female Liberation …………………………………. 50

Conclusion …………………………………………………………………………….. 60

Bibliography …………………………………………………………………………... 63

About this Honors Thesis

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School	Emory College
Department	History
Degree	B.A.
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	History, European European Studies Music
Parola chiave	Theater Opera England Restoration
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Miller, Judith, Emory University
Committee Members	Strocchia, Sharon, Emory University Crist, Stephen, Emory University

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