Rosamond (Arne)

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Susannah Arne, who played Rosamond
Thomas Arne

Rosamond is an opera by Thomas Arne with a libretto by Joseph Addison. It was first performed at the Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre in London on 1 March 1733.[1]

Background[]

Rosamond was the twenty-three year old Arne’s first opera - indeed his first known composition. It was a re-setting of the libretto Addison had written for the 1707 opera Rosamond by Clayton and it made Arne’s reputation as a composer.[2] He taught his sister Susannah and his brother to sing, and they both made their debuts with this work, his sister playing the title role.[3][4]

Performance history[]

The 1733 cast was: Jane Barbier (King), Richard Leveridge (Sir Trusty), (page), Miss Jones (Queen), Susannah Arne (Rosamond), and Isabella Chambers (Grideline).[2][5] The beauty of Arne’s setting and of Susannah’s voice made the opera a success, and it had a run of seven nights. It did not however make money and the vocal score was not published.[2] Its popular airs “Rise, Glory, Rise” and “Was ever nymph like Rosamond” were sung for many years afterwards.[4][6]

The opera was revived on 8 March 1740 at the Drury Lane Theatre with Mr. Beard as the King, Mrs Arne as Queen Elinor and Kitty Clive as Rosamond.[7][5]

References[]

  1. ^ Barrie Jones (2014-06-03). The Hutchinson Concise Dictionary of Music. Routledge. p. 556. ISBN 978-1-135-95018-7.
  2. ^ a b c Todd Gilman (2013). The Theatre Career of Thomas Arne. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 65. ISBN 978-1-61149-436-5.
  3. ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Arne, Thomas Augustine" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 02 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 628–629, see page 628, lines five to seven. On the 7th of March 1733 he produced his first work at Lincoln’s Inn Fields theatre, a setting of Addison’s Rosamond, the heroine’s part being performed by his sister, Susanna Maria, who ...
  4. ^ a b "Thomas Arne". britannica.com. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  5. ^ a b Philip H. Highfill; Kalman A. Burnim; Edward A. Langhans (1975). A Biographical Dictionary of Actors, Actresses, Musicians, Dancers, Managers and Other Stage Personnel in London, 1660-1800: Cabanel to Cory. SIU Press. p. 145. ISBN 978-0-8093-0692-3.
  6. ^ Abraham Rees (1819). The Cyclopædia, Or, Universal Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and Literature. Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme & Brown. p. 570.
  7. ^ Margaret Ross Griffel (21 December 2012). Operas in English: A Dictionary. Scarecrow Press. pp. 422–. ISBN 978-0-8108-8325-3.
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