Oberon, the Faery Prince
Encyclopedia
Oberon, the Faery Prince was a masque
Masque
The masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment which flourished in 16th and early 17th century Europe, though it was developed earlier in Italy, in forms including the intermedio...

 written by Ben Jonson
Ben Jonson
Benjamin Jonson was an English Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor. A contemporary of William Shakespeare, he is best known for his satirical plays, particularly Volpone, The Alchemist, and Bartholomew Fair, which are considered his best, and his lyric poems...

, with costumes, sets and stage effects designed by Inigo Jones
Inigo Jones
Inigo Jones is the first significant British architect of the modern period, and the first to bring Italianate Renaissance architecture to England...

, and music by Alfonso Ferrabosco
Alfonso Ferrabosco the younger
Alfonso Ferrabosco the younger was an English composer and viol player of Italian descent. He straddles the line between the Renaissance and Baroque eras.-Biography:...

 and Robert Johnson. Oberon saw the introduction to English Renaissance theatre
English Renaissance theatre
English Renaissance theatre, also known as early modern English theatre, refers to the theatre of England, largely based in London, which occurred between the Reformation and the closure of the theatres in 1642...

 of scenic techniques that became standard for dramatic productions through the coming centuries.

The text of the masque was first published in the initial folio collection of Jonson's works
Ben Jonson folios
The folio collections of Ben Jonson's works published in the seventeenth century were crucial developments in the publication of English literature and English Renaissance drama. The first folio collection, issued in 1616, treated stage plays as serious works of literature instead of popular...

 that appeared in 1616
1616 in literature
The year 1616 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*Nicolaus Copernicus' De revolutionibus is placed on the Index of Forbidden Books by the Roman Catholic Church....

.

The show

Oberon was performed on January 1, 1611
1611 in literature
The year 1611 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*January 1 - Oberon, the Faery Prince, a masque written by Ben Jonson and designed by Inigo Jones, is performed at Whitehall Palace....

 at Whitehall Palace, in the Banqueting Hall. Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales
Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales
Henry Frederick Stuart, Prince of Wales was the elder son of King James I & VI and Anne of Denmark. His name derives from his grandfathers: Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley and Frederick II of Denmark. Prince Henry was widely seen as a bright and promising heir to his father's throne...

, the son and then-heir of James I, took the title role. (Prince Henry had wanted to stage the masque on horseback, but "his father vetoed the Idea.")

The masque was the sixth in the series of extravagant shows that Jonson and Jones produced for the Stuart
House of Stuart
The House of Stuart is a European royal house. Founded by Robert II of Scotland, the Stewarts first became monarchs of the Kingdom of Scotland during the late 14th century, and subsequently held the position of the Kings of Great Britain and Ireland...

 Court in the Christmas holiday season, a series that had begun with The Masque of Blackness
The Masque of Blackness
The Masque of Blackness was an early Jacobean era masque, first performed at the Stuart Court in the Banqueting Hall of Whitehall Palace on Twelfth Night, January 6, 1605. The masque was written by Ben Jonson at the request of Anne of Denmark, the queen consort of King James I, who wished the...

in 1605
1605 in literature
The year 1605 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*January 1 - The Queen's Revels Children perform George Chapman's All Fools at Court....

 and had continued through the previous year's Prince Henry's Barriers
The Speeches at Prince Henry's Barriers
The Speeches at Prince Henry's Barriers, sometimes called The Lady of the Lake, is a masque or entertainment written by Ben Jonson in honour of Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales, the son and heir of King James I of England...

 (The Lady of the Lake)
. In Oberon, Jones delivered another installment of the spectacle that the English Court had come to expect. The masque began with a front curtain displaying a map of the British Isles, which was drawn to reveal a large rock or crag, lit by a moon that passed through the sky above. Perched on the crag, surrounded by satyr
Satyr
In Greek mythology, satyrs are a troop of male companions of Pan and Dionysus — "satyresses" were a late invention of poets — that roamed the woods and mountains. In myths they are often associated with pipe-playing....

s and nymph
Nymph
A nymph in Greek mythology is a female minor nature deity typically associated with a particular location or landform. Different from gods, nymphs are generally regarded as divine spirits who animate nature, and are usually depicted as beautiful, young nubile maidens who love to dance and sing;...

s, an unusually sober and sagelike Silenus
Silenus
In Greek mythology, Silenus was a companion and tutor to the wine god Dionysus.-Evolution of the character:The original Silenus resembled a folklore man of the forest with the ears of a horse and sometimes also the tail and legs of a horse...

 prophesied the arrival of the fairy prince, Oberon, who would bestow order and beneficent rule. The nymphs and satyrs danced joyfully at the news.

The crag split open to display a palatial hall, furnished with a throne lit with multi-colored lights. The "Knights Masquers" were revealed, and the Prince of Wales entered, riding in a chariot drawn by two "white bears." (Two polar bears captured in the Arctic
Arctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...

 in 1609 were kept by Philip Henslowe
Philip Henslowe
Philip Henslowe was an Elizabethan theatrical entrepreneur and impresario. Henslowe's modern reputation rests on the survival of his diary, a primary source for information about the theatrical world of Renaissance London...

 and Edward Alleyn
Edward Alleyn
Edward Alleyn was an English actor who was a major figure of the Elizabethan theatre and founder of Dulwich College and Alleyn's School.-Early life:...

 as part of their bear-baiting
Bear-baiting
Bear-baiting is a blood sport involving the worrying or tormenting of bears.-Bear-baiting in England:Bear-baiting was popular in England until the nineteenth century. From the sixteenth century, many herds of bears were maintained for baiting...

 operation at the Beargarden
Beargarden
The Beargarden was the facility for bear-baiting, bull-baiting, and other "animal sports" in the London area during the 16th and 17th centuries, from the Elizabethan era to the English Restoration period.-History:...

, and may have been tame enough in 1611 to use in the staging of Oberon.) The men wore black masks and costumes of silver and gold. The praises of Henry and James were sung by a boys' choir accompanied by ten lutenists, and ten pages in green and silver danced, followed by the dance of the fourteen principal masquers; then Oberon/Henry led his mother Anne of Denmark
Anne of Denmark
Anne of Denmark was queen consort of Scotland, England, and Ireland as the wife of King James VI and I.The second daughter of King Frederick II of Denmark, Anne married James in 1589 at the age of fourteen and bore him three children who survived infancy, including the future Charles I...

 in the general dancing that concluded the performance.

The masque was coupled with a performance at "barriers," a stylized physical combat (like a joust without horses); but no specific information on that part of the festivity has survived. Apart from that lack, however, the extant documentation on this masque is richer than for many others of the era—which has allowed scholars to study specific aspects of its creation, notably its music.

Scenery

The masque saw Jones's introduction of two techniques of scenery
Theatrical scenery
Theatrical scenery is that which is used as a setting for a theatrical production. Scenery may be just about anything, from a single chair to an elaborately re-created street, no matter how large or how small, whether or not the item was custom-made or is, in fact, the genuine item, appropriated...

 construction to English stagecraft
Stagecraft
Stagecraft is a generic term referring to the technical aspects of theatrical, film, and video production. It includes, but is not limited to, constructing and rigging scenery, hanging and focusing of lighting, design and procurement of costumes, makeup, procurement of props, stage management, and...

. "Sidewings" are pieces of painted canvas that stand along the sides of the stage, resembling partial backdrops; they can be deployed in multiple pairs arranged for perspective
Perspective (visual)
Perspective, in context of vision and visual perception, is the way in which objects appear to the eye based on their spatial attributes; or their dimensions and the position of the eye relative to the objects...

 effects. "Shutters" are painted backcloths split down the center, that can be slid in or out from the wings. Shutters, like sidewings, can be deployed in multiple sets; their use allows varied changes of scenic backdrop. (Such scenery was used in masques during the Stuart era; considerations of cost and practicality generally kept scenery out of the professional theatre of Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...

 and his successors until the Restoration
English Restoration
The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...

 period.)

Costs

Surviving financial records regarding Oberon indicate that the costumes alone cost £1412. The Exchequer
Exchequer
The Exchequer is a government department of the United Kingdom responsible for the management and collection of taxation and other government revenues. The historical Exchequer developed judicial roles...

 accounts show that Jonson and Jones earned their standard fees of £40 each, though Jones received an additional £16 from Prince Henry's household budget; Ferrabosco earned £20 for his music.

Influences

It has been widely recognized that Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale
The Winter's Tale
The Winter's Tale is a play by William Shakespeare, originally published in the First Folio of 1623. Although it was grouped among the comedies, some modern editors have relabelled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances. Some critics, among them W. W...

shows the influence of Oberon, necessitating the conclusion that the play was written or at least completed after the January 1611 performance of the masque. The main signs of influence in Shakespeare's play are the bear in III,iii and the dance at the sheepshearing in IV,iv, which resembles the dance of satyrs in the masque. Oberon presents a significant demonstration of the influence that the masques of the era had on the commercial theatre of Shakespeare and his compatriots; "the bears in Mucedorus
Mucedorus
Mucedorus is an Elizabethan play, performed up until the Restoration and surviving in seventeen quartos, making it the most widely printed extant play from the time...

,
Oberon, and The Winter's Tale were all connected...." Thomas Arne and George Colman the Elder
George Colman the Elder
George Colman was an English dramatist and essayist, usually called "the Elder", and sometimes "George the First", to distinguish him from his son, George Colman the Younger....

 also used the work as the basis for their masque The Fairy Prince
The Fairy Prince
The Fairy Prince is a masque in three acts by composer Thomas Arne. The English libretto, by George Colman the Elder, is based on Ben Jonson’s Oberon, the Faery Prince...

, which premiered at the Royal Opera House
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...

, Covent Garden
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...

 on 12 November 1771.

Modern production

An extremely rare modern production of Oberon, the Faery Prince occurred in Cleveland, Ohio in 1993, organized by personnel from Case Western Reserve University
Case Western Reserve University
Case Western Reserve University is a private research university located in Cleveland, Ohio, USA...

 and Cleveland State University
Cleveland State University
Cleveland State University is a public university located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. It was established in 1964 when the state of Ohio assumed control of Fenn College, and it absorbed the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in 1969...

. The production, based on surviving stage designs and music, supplemented with adaptations of Jacobean songs and choreography, was recorded and released on videotape and DVD.

See also

  • Orgel, Stephen, ed. Ben Jonson: Complete Masques. New Haven, Yale University Press, 1969.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK