The Opportunity

Last updated

The Opportunity is a Caroline era stage play, a comedy written by James Shirley, published in 1640. The play has been called "a capital little comedy, fairly bubbling over with clever situations, and charming character." [1]

Contents

The Opportunity was licensed for performance by Sir Henry Herbert, the Master of the Revels, on 29 November 1634. It was acted by Shirley's regular company, Queen Henrietta's Men, at the Cockpit Theatre. The 1640 quarto was dedicated by Shirley to a personal friend, Capt. Richard Owen. Shirley relied on El Castigo del Penséque by Tirso de Molina as his source for the plot of his play.

The 1640 quarto was printed by Thomas Cotes for the booksellers Andrew Crooke and William Cooke. The play was popular, and was revived early in the Restoration era, in November 1660. During the Interregnum when the theatres were closed, material from The Opportunity was extracted and performed as a droll called The Price of Conceit, published in The Wits in 1672. [2]

Synopsis

Aurelio Andreozzi is a young gentleman from Milan. He comes to visit Urbino with his friend Pisauro. One in Urbino, Aurelio discovers that he is being mistaken for a man named Borgia, the son of an elderly aristocrat named Mercutio. As a lark, Aurelio allows the misapprehension to persist. It's a potentially serious situation: though recalled from banishment, Borgia has powerful potential enemies—he was accused of having murdered a brother of Ursini, the favorite of Urbino's ruling Duchess. Borgia also has a beautiful sister called Cornelia, a waiting woman to the Duchess—with whom Aurelio quickly falls in love.

Ursini, however, also loves Cornelia; to gain her favor he forgives her "brother," Borgia/Aurelio, and obtains a pardon for him from the Duchess. But Ursini also wants "Borgia" to give his blessing to his suit of Cornelia—a galling circumstance for Aurelio. Compounding the problem, Cornelia is in love with Aurelio, but is repulsed by what she thinks is the unnatural nature of her feelings. The Duchess, too, is enamored of Borgia/Aurelio, to the displeasure of her courtiers; and she is a beautiful and desirable woman who can make her husband a duke. Both Cornelia and Ursini react with jealousy at the Duchess's interest in Aurelio. Also displeased is the "ambassador" from Ferrara, who has been negotiating a potential marriage between his Duke and the Duchess of Urbino. (This "ambassador" is in fact the Duke of Ferrara himself.)

The complications come to a head in the play's balcony scene. In the night, below the balcony, stands Aurelio; unknown to him, the Duke of Ferrara watches from behind. Above, on the balcony, Cornelia pretends to be the Duchess; she tells Aurelio not to rely on her favor—"she" plans to marry the Duke. The Duke, of course, is delighted with this, and leaves. The Duchess comes upon this scene, and supplants Cornelia on the balcony; she in turn pretends to be Cornelia, and in this guise asks Aurelio to bless "her" marriage, that is Cornelia's marriage, with Ursini. Aurelio, thinking that he will lose both women, asserts his true identity: he tells "Cornelia" that he is not her brother, and asks her to love him for himself. The false Cornelia, surprised, gives him a little encouragement, but leaves him still in doubt.

Next morning, the Duchess tells Aurelio that she will help him to any Urbinese bride he fancies, even "the proudest, greatest in our duchy, without all limitations." Before they can come to an understanding, Cornelia enters to announce the Duke, who thinks he has the Duchess's agreement to marry him. The Duchess, of course, denies giving any such promise, and Cornelia confesses her part in the masquerade and the misunderstanding. Further misunderstandings ensue, however, with a misdirected love letter; in the end, the Duchess accepts the Duke and Cornelia accepts Ursini, and the befuddled Aurelio leaves Urbino to resume his travels.

The Opportunity also has a comic subplot, which involves Aurelio's servant Pimponio and a page.

Notes

  1. ↑ Nason, p. 263.
  2. ↑ Forsythe, p. 34.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ercole II d'Este, Duke of Ferrara</span> Duke of Ferrara

Ercole II d'Este was Duke of Ferrara, Modena and Reggio from 1534 to 1559. He was the eldest son of Alfonso I d'Este and Lucrezia Borgia.

The Coronation is a Caroline era stage play, a tragicomedy written by James Shirley, and notable for the tug-of-war of authorship claims in which it was involved in the middle seventeenth century.

Love Tricks, or The School of Complement is a Caroline stage play by James Shirley, his earliest known work.

The Young Admiral is a Caroline era tragicomedy written by James Shirley, and first published in 1637. It has often been considered Shirley's best tragicomedy, and one of his best plays.

The Arcadia is James Shirley's dramatization of the prose romance The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia by Sir Philip Sidney, one expression of the enormous influence that Sidney's work exercised during the 17th century. Shirley's stage version was first published in 1640.

The Brothers is a Caroline era stage play, a comedy written by James Shirley. First published in 1652, The Brothers has sometimes been hailed as one of Shirley's best plays, though it has also been a focus of significant confusion and scholarly debate.

The Changes, or Love in a Maze is a Caroline era stage play, a comedy of manners written by James Shirley, first published in 1639. It was one of Shirley's most popular comedies, especially in the Restoration era. The play is almost universally known by its subtitle.

Saint Patrick for Ireland is a Caroline era stage play, written by James Shirley and first published in 1640. It is notable as an early development in Irish theatre.

The Constant Maid, or Love Will Find Out the Way is a Caroline era stage play, a comedy written by James Shirley and first published in 1640.

The Royal Master is a Caroline era stage play, a comedy written by James Shirley, and first published in 1638. The play is "ranked by many critics as Shirley's ablest work in romantic comedy...It is a play notable for well-knit plot, effective scenes, pleasing characterization, clever dialogue, and poetic atmosphere."

The Humorous Courtier, also called The Duke, is a Caroline era stage play, a comedy written by James Shirley, first published in 1640.

Love's Cruelty is a Caroline-era stage play, a tragedy written by James Shirley, and first published in 1640.

The Duke's Mistress is a Caroline era stage play, a tragicomedy written by James Shirley and first published in 1638. It was the last of Shirley's plays produced before the major break in his career: with the closing of the London theatres due to bubonic plague in May 1636, Shirley left England for Ireland, where he worked under John Ogilby at the Werburgh Street Theatre in Dublin for four years.

The Grateful Servant is a Caroline era stage play, a tragicomedy written by James Shirley, and first published in 1630. Its publication marked a significant development in Shirley's evolving literary career.

The Gentleman of Venice is a Caroline era stage play, a tragicomedy written by James Shirley, and first published in 1655.

The Maid's Revenge is an early Caroline era stage the play, the earliest extant tragedy by James Shirley. It was first published in 1639.

The Politician is a Caroline era stage play, a tragedy written by James Shirley, and first published in 1655.

The Imposture is a Caroline era stage play, a tragicomedy written by James Shirley and first published in 1652. Shirley himself considered The Imposture the best of his romantic comedies.

The Country Captain, alternatively known as Captain Underwit, is a Caroline era stage play written by William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle, and first published in 1649. It has attracted critical attention primarily for the question of James Shirley's participation in its authorship.

The Wisdom of Doctor Dodypoll is a later Elizabethan stage play, an anonymous comedy first published in 1600. It is illustrative of the type of drama staged by the companies of child actors when they returned to public performance in that era.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.