''Bayes's Opera'' is a 1730

ballad opera The ballad opera is a genre of English stage entertainment that originated in the early 18th century, and continued to develop over the following century and later. Like the earlier '' comédie en vaudeville'' and the later ''Singspiel'', its disti ...

by the British writer

Gabriel Odingsells Gabriel Odingsells (1690–1734) was a British playwright. He attended Pembroke College, Oxford. In 1725 he wrote a comedy ''The Bath Unmasked'', set in the city of Bath, Somerset, Bath, which appeared at Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre. This was fo ...

.Nicoll p.347 It was part of a boom in ballad operas that followed in the wake of the success of

John Gay John Gay (30 June 1685 – 4 December 1732) was an English poet and dramatist and member of the Scriblerus Club. He is best remembered for ''The Beggar's Opera'' (1728), a ballad opera. The characters, including Captain Macheath and Polly Peac ...

's ''

The Beggar's Opera ''The Beggar's Opera'' is a ballad opera in three acts written in 1728 by John Gay with music arranged by Johann Christoph Pepusch. It is one of the watershed plays in Augustan drama and is the only example of the once thriving genre of satiri ...

''. The original Drury Lane cast included

Theophilus Cibber Theophilus Cibber (25 or 26 November 1703 – October 1758) was an English actor, playwright, author, and son of the actor-manager Colley Cibber. He began acting at an early age, and followed his father into theatrical management. In 1727, Alex ...

as Bays,

Edward Berry Rear Admiral Sir Edward Berry, 1st Baronet, KCB (17 April 1768 – 13 February 1831) was an officer in Britain's Royal Navy primarily known for his role as flag captain of Rear Admiral Horatio Nelson's ship HMS ''Vanguard'' at the Battle of ...

as Pantomine,

Roger Bridgewater Roger Bridgewater (died 1754) was a British stage actor of the eighteenth century.''The Routledge Anthology of Restoration and Eighteenth-Century Drama'' p.XXXIX He worked as party of the Drury Lane company for many years, specialising in dramat ...

as Lord Briton,

James Oates James Oates (died 1751) was a British stage actor. Possibly of Irish birth, he was a long-standing member of the Drury Lane company from 1718, and also appeared at the summer fairs in London including Southwark and Bartholomew Fair. He speci ...

as Bassoon,

James Rosco James Rosco (died 1761) was a British stage actor. His name is also written as James Roscoe. From 1722 to 1729 he acted at the Smock Alley Theatre in Dublin. Moving to London he appeared at a variety of venues, including the Drury Lane and Haymar ...

as Crowdero, Joe Miller as Harlequin, John Harper as Crispin,

Kitty Clive Catherine Clive (née Raftor; 5 November 1711 – 6 December 1785) Catherine ‘Kitty’ Clive (1711-1785, active 1728-1769) was a first songster and star comedienne of British playhouse entertainment. Clive led and created new forms of English ...

as Dulceda,

Frances Cross Frances Cross (1707-1781) was a British stage actress. From 1727 as Frances Shireburn she appeared at the Drury Lane Theatre. During her early years she established herself in a number of roles that she played repeatedly throughout her career inc ...

as Belinda, Elizabeth Butler as Arabella and Mary Heron as Farcia.

References

Bibliography

* Burling, William J. ''A Checklist of New Plays and Entertainments on the London Stage, 1700-1737''. Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press, 1992. * Nicoll, Allardyce. ''A History of Early Eighteenth Century Drama: 1700-1750''. CUP Archive, 1927. 1730 operas Ballad operas English-language operas {{18thC-play-stub