''Richard Coeur de Lion: An historical romance'' is a 1786

semi-opera The terms "semi-opera", "dramatic opera" and "English opera" were all applied to Restoration entertainments that combined spoken plays with masque-like episodes employing singing and dancing characters. They usually included machines in the manne ...

with an English text by

John Burgoyne General John Burgoyne (24 February 1722 – 4 August 1792) was a British general, dramatist and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1761 to 1792. He first saw action during the Seven Years' War when he participated in several bat ...

set to music by

Thomas Linley the Elder Thomas Linley (17 January 1733 – 19 November 1795) was an English bass and musician active in Bath, Somerset. Born in Badminton, Gloucestershire, Linley began his musical career after he moved to Bath at age 11 and became apprentice to the o ...

. It was first staged at

Drury Lane Theatre The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) and backs onto Drur ...

in October 1786. It was a translation of

Michel-Jean Sedaine Michel-Jean Sedaine (2 June 1719 – 17 May 1797) was a French dramatist and librettist, especially noted for his librettos for '' opéras comiques'', in which he took an important and influential role in the advancement of the genre from th ...

's opera '' Richard Coeur-de-lion'' about the life of the English Monarch

Richard I Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was ...

with the ending significantly changed. The work was a major success and ran for 43 performances and was revived seven times before the end of the century. By contrast a rival version staged at the Covent Garden Theatre at the same time was a failure.Fenner p.399

References

Bibliography

* Fenner, Theodore. ''Opera in London: Views of the Press, 1785-1830''. Southern Illinois University Press, 1994. * Thomson, Peter. ''The Cambridge Introduction to English Theatre, 1660-1900''. Cambridge University Press, 2006. * Nicoll, Allardyce. ''A History of English Drama 1660-1900. Volume III: Late Eighteenth Century Drama''. Cambridge University Press, 1952.

External links

Text in the National Library of Australia, accessed 11 February 2011
Plays by John Burgoyne 1786 plays Cultural depictions of Richard I of England Compositions by Thomas Linley the elder Plays about English royalty {{18thC-play-stub