Rosamond (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]

Susannah Arne, who played Rosamond
Thomas Arne

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), Richard Arne (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. Todd Gilman (2013). The Theatre Career of Thomas Arne. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 65. ISBN 978-1-61149-436-5.
  3. "Thomas Augustine Arne". theodora.com. Encyclopedia Britannica (1911). Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  4. "Thomas Arne". britannica.com. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  5. 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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