Music
Venus and Adonis is considered by some to be either a semi-opera or a masque, but The New Grove names it as the earliest surviving English opera. In fact, an early manuscript source is subtitled "A masque for the entertainment of the king".
In overall form the opera owes much to French operas of the period, especially those of Jean-Baptiste Lully. The French elements in the opera are the French overture, the Prologue which refers in scarcely veiled terms to the court for which it was written, and also includes many dances popular at the time. The piece is a clear model for Henry Purcell's opera Dido and Aeneas, both in structure and the use of the chorus. The piece is remarkable for the period because of its through-composed nature; there are no clear arias or set-pieces, but the music continues throughout the piece, using recitative to further the plot.
Read more about this topic: Venus And Adonis (opera)
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