Davenant << DAV uh nuhnt >>, Sir William (1606-1668), was an English playwright. His name is also spelled D’Avenant.
Davenant was born in Oxford. During the 1630’s, he wrote elaborate spectacles called masques and romantic plays such as Love and Honour (1634) and The Platonic Lovers (1635). During the civil war and Commonwealth periods in England (1642-1660), when plays were banned, Davenant attempted a new theatrical form, the opera. In 1656, he wrote and produced The Siege of Rhodes, generally considered the first English opera.
Davenant supported the Crown during the civil war. After the restoration of Charles II to the English throne in 1660, Davenant became one of two men authorized to reopen the theaters in London. Davenant thus had tremendous influence over theater productions and the careers of playwrights and performers. He oversaw the appearance of the first actresses permitted on the English stage. Davenant died on April 7, 1668.
