The Duchess of Malfi (originally published as The Tragedy of the Dutchesse of Malfy) is a macabre, tragic play written by the English dramatist John Webster in 1612–13. It was first performed privately at the Blackfriars Theatre, then before a more general audience at The Globe, in 1613–14.
The play begins as a love story, with a Duchess who marries beneath her class, and ends as a nightmarish tragedy as her two brothers exact their revenge, destroying themselves in the process. Jacobean drama continued the trend of stage violence and horror set by Elizabethan tragedy, under the influence of Seneca. The complexity of some of its characters, particularly Bosola and the Duchess, plus Webster's poetic language, ensure the play is often considered among the greatest tragedies of English renaissance drama.
The Duchess of Malfi is an opera in three acts by the British composer Stephen Oliver, based on the eponymous play by John Webster. Oliver originally wrote this opera, his ninth in 1971, at age 21, for a production at the Oxford Playhouse on commission from the Oxford University Opera Club. The premiere was on November 23, 1971, with the following cast members:
Jillian Crowe (The Duchess)
Keith Jones (Antonio)
Marion Milford (Julia)
Peter Reynolds (The Cardinal)
Stephen Oliver (Bosola)
Oliver then rewrote the work, and the revised version received its US premiere at Santa Fe Opera on August 5, 1978.
Roles
The Duchess of Malfi
The Cardinal
Daniel de Bosola
Ferdinand, Duke of Calabria
Antonio Bologna
Delio
Castruccio
Silvio
Jester
Cariola
First Officer
Second Officer
A mad priest
A mad astrologer
A mad lawyer
A mad doctor
A doctor - Thomas Hammons
Synopsis
The play is set in the court of Malfi (Amalfi), Italy. The young Duchess has recently been widowed, but her brothers, Ferdinand and the Cardinal, do not wish her to share their inheritance with a new spouse. They thus forbid her from remarrying. The brothers place Daniel de Bosola in her household as a spy. Nonetheless, the Countess falls in love with Antonio, her steward, and they secretly marry. Eventually, the brothers discover the marriage and imprison their sister. In the climatic duel, Bosola and Ferdinand wind up killing each other.
The Duchess (1813–1836) was a British Thoroughbredracehorse and broodmare best known for winning the classicSt Leger Stakes in 1816. In a racing career which lasted from March 1815 until October 1819 she competed in thirty-three races and won nineteen times. She was still unnamed when winning three races as a two-year-old in 1815, when she was one of the leading juveniles in the north of England. In the following year she was named Duchess of Leven, which was shortened to The Duchess when she was sold to Sir Bellingham Graham. She won seven of her nine races as a three-year-old, including the Gold Cup at Pontefract and the St Leger at Doncaster. The Duchess remained in training for a further three seasons, winning five times in 1817, twice in 1818 and twice in 1819, beating many leading horses of the time including Blacklock, Doctor Syntax, Rhoda and Filho da Puta. After her retirement from racing, The Duchess had some success as a broodmare.
Background
The Duchess was a bay mare bred by Mr Ellerker and was the fifth of eight foals produced by Ellerker's mare Miss Nancy (1803–1817). The Duchess was the only classic winner sired by Cardinal York, a son of Sir Peter Teazle. Cardinal York was based at Mr T Kirby's stable at York, where he was standing at a fee of seven guineas in 1816.
Set in the late 18th century, the story follows the life of Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire. Well known for her beauty and fashion sense, she is also remembered for her extravagance and gambling habits. Despite the blatant infidelities of her husband, the cold and much older William Cavendish, the 5th Duke of Devonshire, Georgiana thrives, becoming a fashion icon, a doting mother, a shrewd political operator, and darling of the common people. In befriending Lady Bess Foster, Georgiana is crushed when Bess and The Duke begin an affair. Despite Georgiana's anger, the Duke wants Bess to remain living with them. Bess later explains to Georgiana that the reason she began the affair with the Duke was so that she could get her children back. The Duke wants a male heir, which the Duchess has not yet provided. The idea is that Bess can, since she already has three sons, of whom the Duke is very fond, treating them as if they were his own.
Photographic duchess,Cousin of the queenI've been infatuated duchess Since I knew you had the queen It's the way you move in castle grounds You're the cousin of the queen for Christ's sake Duchess I will like you And that says a lot for meI'd like you even better duchessIf she died and you were queen Regal by appointmentRelation to the queenI thought you were attractive duchessBut the clinched it all for me It's the way you move in castle groundsYou're the cousin of the queen for Christ's sake Duchess I will like youAnd that says a lot for meI'd like you even better duchessIf she died and you were queen Sometimes you're here at my sideAnd sometimes you travel in timeI don't believe that wherever you travelYou'd get an assistant like mine Sometimes you're here at my side And sometimes you travel in timeI don't believe that wherever you travel You'd get an assistant like mine Duchess I will like youAnd that says a lot for meI'd like you even better duchessIf she died and you were queen Duchess I will like youAnd that says a lot for meI'd like you even
The Duchess [of Malfi] has been partially updated by Zinnie Harris in a puzzling modern-dress production ...Jodie Whittaker stars as the lustful Duchess whose destiny lies in the hands of her elder ...
in one of many extraordinary phrases, secrecy is said to be in the air, “like bleach” ... Yet each twist of the action is subtly disclosed and tethered to a 21st-century reality ... On display throughout the ...
These elements, coupled with the Duchess and co's colloquial speech, suggest the play’s events are taking place today – but the costumes, plot and one character’s prose suggest otherwise.The ladies ...
... refuses to be submissive and is killed by her brothers for it is to highlight the eternal relevance of male domestic violence, even against a figure as powerful as Webster’s wealthy duchess.
There may be more than enough Doctor Who fans to keep the box ... The writer-director Zinnie Harris throws a boxful of half-shaped ideas at the audience and leaves the actors looking horribly exposed.
Her staging within the intimate confines of the Globe’s Sam Wanamaker Playhouse (now in its tenth anniversary season) is unexpectedly funny, moving and, at least at one point, plunged into literal as well as existential darkness.
...Bagshaw’s Globe debut which proves less interested in horror effects than the characters’ emotional journeys John Webster wrote The Duchess of Malfi to be performed in a candlelit, Jacobean theatre.
