''The Recruiting Serjeant'' is a

burletta In theater and music history, a burletta (Italian, meaning "little joke", sometimes burla or burlettina) is a brief comic opera. In eighteenth-century Italy, a burletta was the comic intermezzo between the acts of an ''opera seria''. The extended w ...

by composer

Charles Dibdin Charles Dibdin (before 4 March 1745 – 25 July 1814) was an English composer, musician, dramatist, novelist, singer and actor. With over 600 songs to his name, for many of which he wrote both the lyrics and the music and performed them himself, ...

and playwright

Isaac Bickerstaff Isaac Bickerstaff Esq was a pseudonym used by Jonathan Swift as part of a hoax to predict the death of then famous Almanac–maker and astrologer John Partridge. “All Fools' Day” (now known as April Fools' Day which falls on 1 April) was Swif ...

. It premièred on 20 July 1770 at

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Roles

Synopsis

recruiting sergeant A recruiting sergeant is a British or American soldier of the rank of sergeant who is tasked to enlist recruits. The term originated in the British army of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The playwright George Farquhar served as an in ...

comes to a village seeking out new recruits. A countryman, Joe, living with his wife and mother, hears his stirring cry, and decides to enlist. The two women in his life seek to dissuade him, and follow him in when he meets with the sergeant. The sergeant is pleased to find a recruit, but Joe's mother begins cursing the sergeant out for trying to take her son away.''The Recruiting Serjeant'', pp. 333–342 This too fails to dissuade either of them. The mother fetches his children from the house, and appeals to Joe not to leave them, and thus risk all of them ending up in the

workhouse In Britain, a workhouse () was an institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. (In Scotland, they were usually known as poorhouses.) The earliest known use of the term ''workhouse'' ...

. The sergeant starts to sign the man on, but Joe hesitates, asking for information about army life. They talk about women's love of the uniform, and when he asks about battles, sergeant explains " what a charming thing's a battle", cheerily describing everyone's gory death. ("Heads, and limbs, and bullets flying / Then the groans of soldiers dying...") This terrifies the women, but Joe simply asks whether it's likely he himself will lose his head or limbs. "Not if you've good luck", says the sergeant.''Recruiting Serjeant'', p. 338 Joe begins to have second thoughts at this – he had wished to see a battle, but he has decided the sergeant's description of it is quite sufficient. His wife and mother are delighted – and then Joe explains the whole thing was revenge upon his wife for nagging him the night before when he wanted to go to the alehouse. She promises not to do so again, and they reconcile. The play ends with the sergeant buying Joe a drink, and all toasting King George.

References

Bibliography

* ''The Recruiting Serjeant'', reproduced in
Collection of the Most Esteemed Farces and Entertainments Performed on the British Stage
'. Published by C. Elliot, 1788. Digitised on May 25, 2007 by

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, hosted by

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. Access date: 29 August 2008.

External links

*
Collection of the Most Esteemed Farces and Entertainments Performed on the British Stage
'. Contains the complete libretto. {{DEFAULTSORT:Recruiting Serjeant Operas by Charles Dibdin Plays by Isaac Bickerstaffe English-language operas 1770 operas Operas