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| Archive Reference / Library Class No. | D5459/4/17 |
| Former Reference | D5459/2/85 |
| Title | Durham Mustard Too Powerfull for Italian Capers, or the Opera in Uproar |
| Date | Jan 1807 |
| Description | Four young women, all with their hair loose and holding garlands, dance on stage. They are all dancing with their legs lifted. On the left, the Bishop of Durham leaps onto the stage, wielding his crozier, and crying:
"Avaunt black fiend. I fear the [sic] not. Assume whatever shape or form thou wilt, I am determined to lay the [sic] thou black fiend."
Below him is the orchestra pit, and a man who adds:
"That's right, down with them." |
| Level | Item |
| Repository | Derbyshire Record Office |
| Artist | Cruikshank, Isaac (1756-1811) |
| Archive Creator | George Murgatroyd Woodward (1765-1809), artist and writer |
| Further Information | Pub by T Tegg 111 Cheapside Jany 1807
Attribution based on BM Sat 9300. The print was first published 1798 by McQuire.
In 1798 Barrington, Bishop of Durham condemned French opera dancers as being sent from France to undermine morality. He claimed that they, "by the allurements of the most indecent attitudes, and most wanton theatrical exhibitions, corrupted the people". He appealed to the King to ban these "indecent spectacles" and to have the performers expelled. |
| Physical Description | Hand-coloured print. Size 420 x 270 mm. |
| Publication Note | BM Sat 9300 |
| Image | 
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