''The Siege of Curzola'' is a 1786

comic opera Comic opera, sometimes known as light opera, is a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending and often including spoken dialogue. Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a ne ...

with music by

Samuel Arnold Samuel Arnold may refer to: *Samuel Arnold (composer) (1740–1802), English composer and organist * Samuel Arnold (Connecticut politician) (1806–1869), U.S. Representative from Connecticut * Samuel Arnold (conspirator) (1834–1906), co-conspira ...

and a

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...

by the Irish writer John O'Keeffe. It is set in 1571 during the Ottoman siege of Curzola at the time of the Battle of Lepanto.Worrall p.63 It was staged at the

Haymarket Theatre The Theatre Royal Haymarket (also known as Haymarket Theatre or the Little Theatre) is a West End theatre on Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in use. Samuel Foote ...

in London. The original cast included John Edwin, John Bannister and

Lydia Webb Lydia Webb (1736 or 1737-1793) was an English actress. She started acting in Norwich. She was married twice. First, she married a man named Mr. Day. Second, she married a Mr. Webb. Her first notable performance was on 21 November 1772 at the Theat ...

. In following years it was reduced to a shorter two-act afterpiece.

References

Bibliography

* Worrall, David. ''Celebrity, Performance, Reception: British Georgian Theatre as Social Assemblage''. Cambridge University Press, 2013. 1786 operas English comic operas English-language operas Plays by John O'Keeffe {{English-opera-stub