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In the pastoral setting, Acis and Galatea fall in love. The giant Polyphemus, jealous of Galatea, kills Acis; Galatea uses her divine power to transform Acis into a fountain, and the chorus celebrates his immortality.
A mythological and Arthurian allegory, the opera represents the Stuart dynasty and was written as a tribute to Charles II, later intended to apply to James II.
In Alexandria, Mark Antony struggles between his love for Cleopatra and pressure to return to Rome with his wife Octavia. After a staged appearance of infidelity convinces him that Cleopatra betrayed him, Antony's forces turn against him. He attempts suicide after being told Cleopatra is dead; when she arrives, he dies, and she and her attendants kill themselves.
Almahide has been raised as a man so she can kill her father’s enemy, Almiro, but she falls in love with him instead. Almiro loves Celinda, who is also loved by King Almanzor but loves the disguised Almahide. Jealousy and threats of violence follow before the conflicts are resolved with two marriages.
Amboyna, or the Cruelties of the Dutch to the English Merchants is a tragedy by John Dryden written in 1673. Its subject is the Amboyna massacre and the death of Gabriel Towerson that took place on Ambon Island in 1623. Dryden reportedly wrote the play in the short space of a month; he wanted to produce a topical piece, since England was at that time at war with the Dutch Republic. It was dedicated to Lord Clifford, a member of the Cabal. The original production was acted by the King's Company at the theatre at Lincoln's Inn Fields. The original cast included Charles Hart as Captain Gabriel Towerson, Michael Mohun as Beaumont, Edward Lydall as Collins, Marmaduke Watson as Captain Middleton, Nicholas Burt as Perez, William Cartwright as Harman, William Wintershall as The Fiscal, William Beeston as Van Herring, Elizabeth James as Julia, Rebecca Marshall as Ysabinda and Katherine Corey as English Woman. Towerson's wife in the play, Ysabinda, is based on his real life wife, Mariam Khan (dates unknown), daughter of an influential merchant at the courts of the Mughul Emperors Akbar and Jahangir.
Dryden reworks the Amphitryon story as a comedy about sexual morality and power, adding Phaedra, who flirts with Sosia before Mercury wins her over with promises of wealth. Music by Purcell distinguishes this version from its earlier dramatic sources.
The action of the play takes place in Madrid on the last night before Lent, 1665, and involves two young English gentlemen, Wildblood and Bellamy, and their comic servant Maskall, who fall in love with two beautiful young Spanish ladies, Donna Theodosia and Donna Jacinta, and their clever servant Beatrix.
A rhymed-verse Restoration drama loosely based on the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, his brother Murad Baksh and their father Shah Jahan.
Cleomenes, the Spartan Hero or Cleomenes, The Spartan Heroe: A Tragedy is a 1692 tragedy by the English writer John Dryden. It was first staged at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane by the United Company. It portrays the reign of Cleomenes, the King of Sparta, inspired by Plutarch's history of the period. Dryden's version is strongly Jacobite in drawing parallels from his overthrow to the recent Glorious Revolution in England. Because of this it was temporarily banned by the authority of Queen Mary. The original Drury Lane cast included Thomas Betterton as Cleomenes, Anthony Leigh as Cleonidas, John Verbruggen as Ptolomy, Samuel Sandford as Sosybius, William Mountfort as Cleanthes, Edward Kynaston as Pantheus, John Hodgson as Coenus, Mary Betterton as Cratisiclea, Anne Bracegirdle as Cleora and Elizabeth Barry as Cassandra. It was published by Jacob Tonson who had by this time secured exclusive rights to Dryden's work past and present. The published version was dedicated to the Tory politician, the Earl of Rochester.
Don Sebastian, King Of Portugal is a 1689 tragedy by the English writer John Dryden. It is based on the reign of King Sebastian of Portugal leading up to his defeat and death at the Battle of Alcácer Quibir in 1578. An Elizabethan play The Battle of Alcazar also portrays the events. It was first staged by the United Company at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. The original cast included Joseph Williams as Don Sebastian, Edward Kynaston as Muley Moluch, Thomas Betterton as Dorax, Samuel Sandford as Benducar, Cave Underhill as Mufti, William Mountfort as Don Antonio, John Bowman as Don Alvarez, Anthony Leigh as Mustapha, Elizabeth Barry as Almeyda, Susanna Mountfort as Morayma and Elinor Leigh as Johayma. It was published in 1690 and dedicated to the politician the Earl of Leicester.
Arthur’s Britons fight the Saxons, led by King Oswald, who has abducted Arthur’s blind fiancée Emmeline. With help from Merlin and the spirit Philidel, Arthur overcomes the Saxon magician Osmond’s spells and destroys an enchanted wood. Arthur defeats Oswald in single combat but spares his life. Merlin restores Emmeline’s sight, and she and Arthur reunite.
Love Triumphant; Or, Nature Will Prevail is a 1694 tragicomedy by the English writer John Dryden. It was Dryden's final stage play. It was originally staged by the United Company at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. The first cast included Thomas Betterton as Alphonso, Edward Kynaston as Veramond, Joseph Williams as Garcia, John Verbruggen as Ramirez, Thomas Doggett as Sancho, George Powell as Carlos, Cave Underhill as Lopez, Mary Betterton as Ximena, Elizabeth Barry as Victoria, Anne Bracegirdle as Celidea, Susanna Mountfort as Dalinda and Mary Kent as Nurse. Incidental music was provided by John Eccles and Henry Purcell. The published version of the play was dedicated to Earl of Salisbury, who shared Jacobite sympathies with Dryden. It was printed by the publisher Jacob Tonson who secured exclusive rights to Dryden's work late in the writer's career.
The setting is in Sicily. The plot concerns two separate storylines, one a romance between Palmyra and Leonidas, who were separated from their parents as babies and who were raised together by Hermogenes, who has kept their past a secret. When Hermogenes is recognized by the usurper-king Polydamas, he declares that Leonidas is Polydamas's son. However, as Leonidas's new position of prince then forbids him to marry Palmyra, much misery is brought to the couple. When the lovers refuse to stop seeing each other, Palmyra is sentenced to death. Hermogenes then steps forward and reveals that he was lying before: in fact Leonidas is his own son, he says, and he had lied in the hopes of bettering the boy by making him prince, whereas Palmyra is the real child of Polydamas. After offering proof of this new claim, Palmyra is established as princess, but again this prevents her and Leonidas from marrying. Hermogenes eventually admits that he once again was withholding information, and reveals the whole truth to Leonidas—Leonidas is the son of the rightful king, whose throne was usurped by Polydamas. As soon as he learns this, Leonidas forms a rebellion against Polydamas, wins, and establishes himself the new king, finally allowing himself and Palmyra to be married. The second storyline, which intertwines with the first, concerns Rhodophil and his friend Palamede. Palamede has fallen in love with Rhodophil's wife Doralice, and Rhodophil is in love with Palamede's fiancée Melantha. Each of the women seem to find their pursuers agreeable, and great care is taken by all parties to keep their meetings secret from each other, with disastrous results as the two couples seem to always choose the same locations and tactics for meeting. When finally the actions of everyone are discovered, Palamede and Rhodophil decide that since their tastes in women are so similar, each would be best sticking to his rightful claim. Palamede then manages to win the heart of Melantha, and amicably break off his relationship with Doralice.
Dryden's play bears significant parallels to his friend George Etherege's 1676 production The Man of Mode; both feature a man whose sexual attraction is so great (Woodall), that an intelligent and moral woman (Ms Pleasance) is willing to engage in an affair with him. He mentions working on the play in a letter dated October 1677, while a number of references, including one to the French general François de Créquy, date his revisions to 1679. The terms 'Mistress' and 'Keeper' implied a sexual relationship between an unmarried woman, the Mistress, and her male lover or 'Keeper', who supports her financially. Society at the time made a clear distinction between kept mistresses and prostitutes, several of whom appear as minor characters in the play; in Annus Mirabilis, Dryden suggested Charles II's multiple mistresses demonstrated his generosity of spirit, rather than immorality. The main characters include: Mr Woodall: a young, wealthy and amoral aristocrat Ms Judith: unmarried, servant of Mrs. Brainsick, seduced by Woodall Mrs. Brainsick: married to Mr. Brainsick, seduced by Woodall Ms Tricksy: Limberham's 'Mistress', who is seduced by Woodall Mr Limberham: Ms. Tricksy's 'Keeper', whom he later marries Ms Saintly: a widow, agrees to be seduced by Woodall who asks Gervase to stand in for him so he can sleep with Ms Pleasance Mr Gervase: Woodall's servant, who takes his place with Ms Saintly and marries her Ms Pleasance: Woodall's prospective bride (unknown to both of them) but who is willing to be seduced by him Mr Brainsick: husband to Mrs Brainsick, who remains unaware of her affair with Woodall Mr Aldo: a widower, who discovers he is Woodall's father Woodall first seduces the maidservant Judith, followed by Ms Tricksy, then Mrs. Brainsick; he asks his servant Gervase to take his place with Ms Saintly, a widow and is about to bed Ms Pleasance when he discovers she is his intended bride. While the female characters are all aware of each other's relationships with Woodall, the men are not, with the exception of Aldo; he supports Woodall in his seductions, arguing that he did the same when young and later discovers he is Woodall's father. At the end of the play, a series of marriages are agreed; Woodall to Ms Pleasance, Gervase to Ms Saintly and Limberham to Tricksy, while Brainsick is happily unaware that his wife was seduced. It finishes with Woodall telling the audience to find a woman who can be both a "wife and mistress".
As plague afflicts Thebes, Oedipus investigates the murder of the former king Laius. Creon schemes to seize the throne and pursues his niece Eurydice, whose love for the Argive prince Adrastus becomes a tragic subplot; the adaptation ends in a bloody series of deaths.
To impress his mistress Millicent, foolish Sir Martin pretends to play the lute, miming and strumming silently while another character secretly supplies the music. His continuing performance after the concealed player stops exposes the fraud in this Restoration comedy.
A Restoration comedy, written mainly in prose with some blank verse, that draws plot material from Calderón’s Con quien vengo vengo. Its subtitle, Love in a Nunnery, prompted suspicions of anti-Catholic satire.
The Conquest of Granada by the Spaniards concerns the Battle of Granada (1482–1491), fought between the Moors and the Spanish, which led to the fall of the Emirate of Granada (1230–1492). The action concerns two factions of Moors, the Abencerrages and the Zegry. The hero of the play is Almanzor, who fights for the Moors, and falls in love with Almahide, who is betrothed to Boabdelin, the King of the Moors. Although Almahide reciprocates Almanzor's love, she will not betray her betrothal to King Boabdelin, who is emotionally distressed by jealousy of and military need for Almanzor in fighting the Spaniards during the Reconquista. In the course of events, Almanzor and Almahide remain separated until the death of Boabdelin. Additional to the protagonist's love story, two other plots involve frustrated love: (i) Abdalla, brother of King Boabdelin, and Abdelmelich, leader of the Abencerrage faction, vie for the love of Lyndaraxa, sister of the Zegry leader; and (ii) Niggr, a young man from the Abencerrage faction, loves Benzayda, who is a Zegry woman. The course of the drama reveals that Almanzor is the lost son of the Duke of Arcos, but dutifully fights the Spaniards for the Moors.
A Restoration tragedy that recasts the French court's conflict with the Guise faction as an allegory of the English court's struggle with Shaftesbury and Monmouth.
During the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, Montezuma and Cortés face conflicts between love and duty. Montezuma refuses to save his kingdom for personal reasons, while Cortés obeys his king despite misgivings; Montezuma is tortured by the Spaniards and dies by suicide.
At the courts of Peru and Mexico, general Montezuma loves the Peruvian princess Orazia while the usurping Mexican queen Zempoalla also desires him and threatens her captives with sacrifice. Competing loyalties, court ambitions and succession claims culminate in revolt and the restoration of the legitimate Mexican line.
At the Sicilian court, the queen’s love for her favorite Philocles is obscured by his misunderstanding of her feelings and the court’s expectation that she marry Lysimantes. Their shifting loyalties and restraint keep the outcome uncertain, alongside a comic courtship plot involving Celadon and Florimel.
The Rival Ladies is a 1664 tragicomedy by the English writer John Dryden. It was originally performed by the King's Company at the Theatre Royal then in Brydges Street. Dryden dedicated the published version to the Irish politician and playwright the Earl of Orrery.
A tragicomedy pairs the secret marriage of Torrismond, rightful heir to the Spanish throne, and the usurping Queen Leonora with a comic subplot involving the corrupt Father Dominic and Lorenzo’s pursuit of a woman who is revealed to be his sister.
Dryden and D'Avenant adapt Shakespeare's The Tempest, retaining much of its verse while changing its language and adding characters. Prospero's daughter Dorinda and Ariel's girlfriend Milcha expand the island's relationships, including a parallel romance between Dorinda and Hippolito.
This Restoration comedy includes a plot in which Lady Constance pretends to be pregnant by placing a pillow under her dress.
Troilus And Cressida; Or, Truth Found Too Late is a 1679 tragedy by the English writer John Dryden. It was first staged by the Duke's Company at the Dorset Garden Theatre in London. It was a reworking of William Shakespeare's 1602 play Troilus and Cressida, set during the Trojan Wars. In acknowledgement of this Dryden has the prologue spoken by Shakespeare's ghost, defending the alterations made to the play. The original cast included Thomas Betterton as Troilus, William Smith as Hector, Thomas Percival as Priam, Joseph Williams as Aeneas, Anthony Leigh as Pandarus, Thomas Gillow as Agamemnon, Henry Harris as Ulysses, George Bright as Ajax, Henry Norris as Nestor, John Crosby as Diomedes, John Bowman as Patroclus, John Richards as Anthenor, Cave Underhill as Thersites, Mary Lee as Cressida and Mary Betterton as Andromache. The published version of the play was dedicated to the politician Lord Sunderland.
In this rhymed-couplet tragedy, the Roman emperor Maximinus persecutes Catherine of Alexandria after she rejects his sexual advances.
In the pastoral setting, Acis and Galatea fall in love. The giant Polyphemus, jealous of Galatea, kills Acis; Galatea uses her divine power to transform Acis into a fountain, and the chorus celebrates his immortality.
A mythological and Arthurian allegory, the opera represents the Stuart dynasty and was written as a tribute to Charles II, later intended to apply to James II.
In Alexandria, Mark Antony struggles between his love for Cleopatra and pressure to return to Rome with his wife Octavia. After a staged appearance of infidelity convinces him that Cleopatra betrayed him, Antony's forces turn against him. He attempts suicide after being told Cleopatra is dead; when she arrives, he dies, and she and her attendants kill themselves.
Almahide has been raised as a man so she can kill her father’s enemy, Almiro, but she falls in love with him instead. Almiro loves Celinda, who is also loved by King Almanzor but loves the disguised Almahide. Jealousy and threats of violence follow before the conflicts are resolved with two marriages.
Amboyna, or the Cruelties of the Dutch to the English Merchants is a tragedy by John Dryden written in 1673. Its subject is the Amboyna massacre and the death of Gabriel Towerson that took place on Ambon Island in 1623. Dryden reportedly wrote the play in the short space of a month; he wanted to produce a topical piece, since England was at that time at war with the Dutch Republic. It was dedicated to Lord Clifford, a member of the Cabal. The original production was acted by the King's Company at the theatre at Lincoln's Inn Fields. The original cast included Charles Hart as Captain Gabriel Towerson, Michael Mohun as Beaumont, Edward Lydall as Collins, Marmaduke Watson as Captain Middleton, Nicholas Burt as Perez, William Cartwright as Harman, William Wintershall as The Fiscal, William Beeston as Van Herring, Elizabeth James as Julia, Rebecca Marshall as Ysabinda and Katherine Corey as English Woman. Towerson's wife in the play, Ysabinda, is based on his real life wife, Mariam Khan (dates unknown), daughter of an influential merchant at the courts of the Mughul Emperors Akbar and Jahangir.
Dryden reworks the Amphitryon story as a comedy about sexual morality and power, adding Phaedra, who flirts with Sosia before Mercury wins her over with promises of wealth. Music by Purcell distinguishes this version from its earlier dramatic sources.
The action of the play takes place in Madrid on the last night before Lent, 1665, and involves two young English gentlemen, Wildblood and Bellamy, and their comic servant Maskall, who fall in love with two beautiful young Spanish ladies, Donna Theodosia and Donna Jacinta, and their clever servant Beatrix.
A rhymed-verse Restoration drama loosely based on the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, his brother Murad Baksh and their father Shah Jahan.
Cleomenes, the Spartan Hero or Cleomenes, The Spartan Heroe: A Tragedy is a 1692 tragedy by the English writer John Dryden. It was first staged at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane by the United Company. It portrays the reign of Cleomenes, the King of Sparta, inspired by Plutarch's history of the period. Dryden's version is strongly Jacobite in drawing parallels from his overthrow to the recent Glorious Revolution in England. Because of this it was temporarily banned by the authority of Queen Mary. The original Drury Lane cast included Thomas Betterton as Cleomenes, Anthony Leigh as Cleonidas, John Verbruggen as Ptolomy, Samuel Sandford as Sosybius, William Mountfort as Cleanthes, Edward Kynaston as Pantheus, John Hodgson as Coenus, Mary Betterton as Cratisiclea, Anne Bracegirdle as Cleora and Elizabeth Barry as Cassandra. It was published by Jacob Tonson who had by this time secured exclusive rights to Dryden's work past and present. The published version was dedicated to the Tory politician, the Earl of Rochester.
Don Sebastian, King Of Portugal is a 1689 tragedy by the English writer John Dryden. It is based on the reign of King Sebastian of Portugal leading up to his defeat and death at the Battle of Alcácer Quibir in 1578. An Elizabethan play The Battle of Alcazar also portrays the events. It was first staged by the United Company at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. The original cast included Joseph Williams as Don Sebastian, Edward Kynaston as Muley Moluch, Thomas Betterton as Dorax, Samuel Sandford as Benducar, Cave Underhill as Mufti, William Mountfort as Don Antonio, John Bowman as Don Alvarez, Anthony Leigh as Mustapha, Elizabeth Barry as Almeyda, Susanna Mountfort as Morayma and Elinor Leigh as Johayma. It was published in 1690 and dedicated to the politician the Earl of Leicester.
Arthur’s Britons fight the Saxons, led by King Oswald, who has abducted Arthur’s blind fiancée Emmeline. With help from Merlin and the spirit Philidel, Arthur overcomes the Saxon magician Osmond’s spells and destroys an enchanted wood. Arthur defeats Oswald in single combat but spares his life. Merlin restores Emmeline’s sight, and she and Arthur reunite.
Love Triumphant; Or, Nature Will Prevail is a 1694 tragicomedy by the English writer John Dryden. It was Dryden's final stage play. It was originally staged by the United Company at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. The first cast included Thomas Betterton as Alphonso, Edward Kynaston as Veramond, Joseph Williams as Garcia, John Verbruggen as Ramirez, Thomas Doggett as Sancho, George Powell as Carlos, Cave Underhill as Lopez, Mary Betterton as Ximena, Elizabeth Barry as Victoria, Anne Bracegirdle as Celidea, Susanna Mountfort as Dalinda and Mary Kent as Nurse. Incidental music was provided by John Eccles and Henry Purcell. The published version of the play was dedicated to Earl of Salisbury, who shared Jacobite sympathies with Dryden. It was printed by the publisher Jacob Tonson who secured exclusive rights to Dryden's work late in the writer's career.
The setting is in Sicily. The plot concerns two separate storylines, one a romance between Palmyra and Leonidas, who were separated from their parents as babies and who were raised together by Hermogenes, who has kept their past a secret. When Hermogenes is recognized by the usurper-king Polydamas, he declares that Leonidas is Polydamas's son. However, as Leonidas's new position of prince then forbids him to marry Palmyra, much misery is brought to the couple. When the lovers refuse to stop seeing each other, Palmyra is sentenced to death. Hermogenes then steps forward and reveals that he was lying before: in fact Leonidas is his own son, he says, and he had lied in the hopes of bettering the boy by making him prince, whereas Palmyra is the real child of Polydamas. After offering proof of this new claim, Palmyra is established as princess, but again this prevents her and Leonidas from marrying. Hermogenes eventually admits that he once again was withholding information, and reveals the whole truth to Leonidas—Leonidas is the son of the rightful king, whose throne was usurped by Polydamas. As soon as he learns this, Leonidas forms a rebellion against Polydamas, wins, and establishes himself the new king, finally allowing himself and Palmyra to be married. The second storyline, which intertwines with the first, concerns Rhodophil and his friend Palamede. Palamede has fallen in love with Rhodophil's wife Doralice, and Rhodophil is in love with Palamede's fiancée Melantha. Each of the women seem to find their pursuers agreeable, and great care is taken by all parties to keep their meetings secret from each other, with disastrous results as the two couples seem to always choose the same locations and tactics for meeting. When finally the actions of everyone are discovered, Palamede and Rhodophil decide that since their tastes in women are so similar, each would be best sticking to his rightful claim. Palamede then manages to win the heart of Melantha, and amicably break off his relationship with Doralice.
Dryden's play bears significant parallels to his friend George Etherege's 1676 production The Man of Mode; both feature a man whose sexual attraction is so great (Woodall), that an intelligent and moral woman (Ms Pleasance) is willing to engage in an affair with him. He mentions working on the play in a letter dated October 1677, while a number of references, including one to the French general François de Créquy, date his revisions to 1679. The terms 'Mistress' and 'Keeper' implied a sexual relationship between an unmarried woman, the Mistress, and her male lover or 'Keeper', who supports her financially. Society at the time made a clear distinction between kept mistresses and prostitutes, several of whom appear as minor characters in the play; in Annus Mirabilis, Dryden suggested Charles II's multiple mistresses demonstrated his generosity of spirit, rather than immorality. The main characters include: Mr Woodall: a young, wealthy and amoral aristocrat Ms Judith: unmarried, servant of Mrs. Brainsick, seduced by Woodall Mrs. Brainsick: married to Mr. Brainsick, seduced by Woodall Ms Tricksy: Limberham's 'Mistress', who is seduced by Woodall Mr Limberham: Ms. Tricksy's 'Keeper', whom he later marries Ms Saintly: a widow, agrees to be seduced by Woodall who asks Gervase to stand in for him so he can sleep with Ms Pleasance Mr Gervase: Woodall's servant, who takes his place with Ms Saintly and marries her Ms Pleasance: Woodall's prospective bride (unknown to both of them) but who is willing to be seduced by him Mr Brainsick: husband to Mrs Brainsick, who remains unaware of her affair with Woodall Mr Aldo: a widower, who discovers he is Woodall's father Woodall first seduces the maidservant Judith, followed by Ms Tricksy, then Mrs. Brainsick; he asks his servant Gervase to take his place with Ms Saintly, a widow and is about to bed Ms Pleasance when he discovers she is his intended bride. While the female characters are all aware of each other's relationships with Woodall, the men are not, with the exception of Aldo; he supports Woodall in his seductions, arguing that he did the same when young and later discovers he is Woodall's father. At the end of the play, a series of marriages are agreed; Woodall to Ms Pleasance, Gervase to Ms Saintly and Limberham to Tricksy, while Brainsick is happily unaware that his wife was seduced. It finishes with Woodall telling the audience to find a woman who can be both a "wife and mistress".
As plague afflicts Thebes, Oedipus investigates the murder of the former king Laius. Creon schemes to seize the throne and pursues his niece Eurydice, whose love for the Argive prince Adrastus becomes a tragic subplot; the adaptation ends in a bloody series of deaths.
To impress his mistress Millicent, foolish Sir Martin pretends to play the lute, miming and strumming silently while another character secretly supplies the music. His continuing performance after the concealed player stops exposes the fraud in this Restoration comedy.
A Restoration comedy, written mainly in prose with some blank verse, that draws plot material from Calderón’s Con quien vengo vengo. Its subtitle, Love in a Nunnery, prompted suspicions of anti-Catholic satire.
The Conquest of Granada by the Spaniards concerns the Battle of Granada (1482–1491), fought between the Moors and the Spanish, which led to the fall of the Emirate of Granada (1230–1492). The action concerns two factions of Moors, the Abencerrages and the Zegry. The hero of the play is Almanzor, who fights for the Moors, and falls in love with Almahide, who is betrothed to Boabdelin, the King of the Moors. Although Almahide reciprocates Almanzor's love, she will not betray her betrothal to King Boabdelin, who is emotionally distressed by jealousy of and military need for Almanzor in fighting the Spaniards during the Reconquista. In the course of events, Almanzor and Almahide remain separated until the death of Boabdelin. Additional to the protagonist's love story, two other plots involve frustrated love: (i) Abdalla, brother of King Boabdelin, and Abdelmelich, leader of the Abencerrage faction, vie for the love of Lyndaraxa, sister of the Zegry leader; and (ii) Niggr, a young man from the Abencerrage faction, loves Benzayda, who is a Zegry woman. The course of the drama reveals that Almanzor is the lost son of the Duke of Arcos, but dutifully fights the Spaniards for the Moors.
A Restoration tragedy that recasts the French court's conflict with the Guise faction as an allegory of the English court's struggle with Shaftesbury and Monmouth.
During the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, Montezuma and Cortés face conflicts between love and duty. Montezuma refuses to save his kingdom for personal reasons, while Cortés obeys his king despite misgivings; Montezuma is tortured by the Spaniards and dies by suicide.
At the courts of Peru and Mexico, general Montezuma loves the Peruvian princess Orazia while the usurping Mexican queen Zempoalla also desires him and threatens her captives with sacrifice. Competing loyalties, court ambitions and succession claims culminate in revolt and the restoration of the legitimate Mexican line.
At the Sicilian court, the queen’s love for her favorite Philocles is obscured by his misunderstanding of her feelings and the court’s expectation that she marry Lysimantes. Their shifting loyalties and restraint keep the outcome uncertain, alongside a comic courtship plot involving Celadon and Florimel.
The Rival Ladies is a 1664 tragicomedy by the English writer John Dryden. It was originally performed by the King's Company at the Theatre Royal then in Brydges Street. Dryden dedicated the published version to the Irish politician and playwright the Earl of Orrery.
A tragicomedy pairs the secret marriage of Torrismond, rightful heir to the Spanish throne, and the usurping Queen Leonora with a comic subplot involving the corrupt Father Dominic and Lorenzo’s pursuit of a woman who is revealed to be his sister.
Dryden and D'Avenant adapt Shakespeare's The Tempest, retaining much of its verse while changing its language and adding characters. Prospero's daughter Dorinda and Ariel's girlfriend Milcha expand the island's relationships, including a parallel romance between Dorinda and Hippolito.
This Restoration comedy includes a plot in which Lady Constance pretends to be pregnant by placing a pillow under her dress.
Troilus And Cressida; Or, Truth Found Too Late is a 1679 tragedy by the English writer John Dryden. It was first staged by the Duke's Company at the Dorset Garden Theatre in London. It was a reworking of William Shakespeare's 1602 play Troilus and Cressida, set during the Trojan Wars. In acknowledgement of this Dryden has the prologue spoken by Shakespeare's ghost, defending the alterations made to the play. The original cast included Thomas Betterton as Troilus, William Smith as Hector, Thomas Percival as Priam, Joseph Williams as Aeneas, Anthony Leigh as Pandarus, Thomas Gillow as Agamemnon, Henry Harris as Ulysses, George Bright as Ajax, Henry Norris as Nestor, John Crosby as Diomedes, John Bowman as Patroclus, John Richards as Anthenor, Cave Underhill as Thersites, Mary Lee as Cressida and Mary Betterton as Andromache. The published version of the play was dedicated to the politician Lord Sunderland.
In this rhymed-couplet tragedy, the Roman emperor Maximinus persecutes Catherine of Alexandria after she rejects his sexual advances.