''The Farmer'' is a two-act comic opera with music by
William Shield
William Shield (5 March 1748 – 25 January 1829) was an English composer, violinist and viola, violist. His music earned the respect of Haydn and Beethoven.
Life and musical career
Shield was born in Swalwell near Gateshead, County Durham, th ...
and a libretto by the Irish writer
John O'Keeffe, set in London and Kent and premiered at the
Theatre Royal Covent Garden on 31 October 1787.
[White, Eric Walter: ''A Register of First Performances of English Operas'' (London: Society for Theatre Research, 1983), p. 51.]
O'Keeffe adapted the text from his play ''The Plague of Riches'', which had been rejected. Its songs included "A Flaxen-Headed Cow-Boy".
Sources
*http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/20658
References
External links
*
1787 operas
English comic operas
Operas set in the British Isles
Plays by John O'Keeffe
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