''Rosamond '' is an opera in three acts by Thomas Clayton with a libretto by

Joseph Addison Joseph Addison (1 May 1672 – 17 May 1719) was an English essayist, poet, playwright, and politician. He was the eldest son of Lancelot Addison. His name is usually remembered alongside that of his long-standing friend Richard Steele, with w ...

. It was first performed on 4 March 1707 at

Drury Lane Drury Lane is a street on the boundary between the Covent Garden and Holborn areas of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of London Borough of Camden, Camden and the southern part in the City o ...

Development

Addison and Clayton both objected to the new practice of having parts of operas performed in London sung in Italian; they felt that the texts used should be examples of the finest literary English. Addison however followed the norm of Italian opera by having three male and three female characters. In 1705 Clayton had enjoyed considerable success with his opera ''

Arsinoe, Queen of Cyprus ''Arsinoe, Queen of Cyprus'' by Thomas Clayton was the first Italian-style opera (in English) to be staged in England. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane on 16 January 1705. There were various historical women named Arsinoe, but from ...

'' which had run for twenty-four nights in its first season, as well as eleven nights the following year. There were three further performances in 1707, but by that time

Antonio Maria Bononcini Antonio Maria Bononcini (18 June 1677 – 8 July 1726) was an Italian cellist and composer, the younger brother of the better-known Giovanni Bononcini. Bononcini was born and died at Modena in Italy. Like his brother, he studied with Giovanni Pa ...

’s ''Camilla'' had appeared on the stage, and the public appetite for a better musical experience had moved on. The cast of ''Rosamond'' was Francis Hughes (King Henry),

Catherine Tofts Catherine Tofts or Katherine Tofts (c. 1685–1756) was the first English singer who sang Italian opera in England. Life Tofts began her career as a concert soprano in 1703 and joined the roster of principal sopranos at the Theatre Royal, Drury ...

(Queen Elinor),

Richard Leveridge Richard Leveridge (or Leueridge) (19 July 1670 – 22 March 1758) was an English bass singer of the London stage and a composer of baroque music, including many popular songs. Life Richard Leveridge was born in the parish of St Martin-in-the-Fiel ...

(Sir Trusty), Miss Gallia (Rosamond) and Miss Lindsey as Grideline. This was the same cast as had performed ''Arsinoe'', suggesting that Addison was seeking to introduce his English libretto to a company of singers who had already shown they could achieve great success.

Action

The action is drawn, with the exception of its ending and a comic subplot, from the poem ''The Death of Rosamond'' by

Thomas Deloney Thomas Deloney (born ; died in or shortly before 1600) was an English silk-weaver, novelist, and ballad writer. Biography Thomas Deloney was born sometime in the middle decades of the 16th century; the precise date is not recorded. Although ofte ...

. The opera concerns the story of Rosamond Clifford, mistress of

Henry II of England Henry II () was King of England The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with the ...

. A jealous Queen Elinor poisons her but she recovers, and Henry repents of his sin. While Queen Elinor regains her husband's love by appealing to his sense of destiny, a comic subplot involves Sir Trusty and his wife Grideline, and the interplay between the two is similar to the ‘split-plot’ plays of

John Dryden John Dryden (; – ) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, Poet Laureate. He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration (En ...

. The opera emphasised the importance of unity and Britishness, contrasting the gentle character of Rosamond with the vengeful French queen. It was accompanied by a prologue that compared

Marlborough Marlborough or the Marlborough may refer to: Places Australia * Marlborough, Queensland * Principality of Marlborough, a short-lived micronation in 1993 * Marlborough Highway, Tasmania; Malborough was an historic name for the place at the sou ...

to Henry II, and at the climax of the story the sleeping Henry sees a vision of the future of the spot where he is resting and a huge plan of

Blenheim Palace Blenheim Palace ( ) is a country house in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England. It is the seat of the Dukes of Marlborough. Originally called Blenheim Castle, it has been known as Blenheim Palace since the 19th century. One of England's larg ...

is unfurled on stage. The opera seemed full of absurdities, for example when King Henry approaches the bower where he meets Rosamond, there is a fanfare of instruments and the verse proclaims: ‘Hark, hark! What sound invades me ear? The conqueror's approach I hear.’ Rosamond herself dies in the second act and this loss is ‘not compensated by a single interesting event in the third.’

Critical reception

The production was a disaster and the opera closed after just three nights. Clayton's music was described as ‘a jargon of sounds.’ Roger Fisk described it as ‘cretinous.’

Charles Burney Charles Burney (7 April 1726 – 12 April 1814) was an English music historian, composer and musician. He was the father of the writers Frances Burney and Sarah Burney, of the explorer James Burney, and of Charles Burney, a classicis ...

said that Addison ‘never manifested a greater want of taste and intelligence in music than when he employed Clayton to set his opera of Rosamond.” In 1837

John Barnett John Barnett (15 July 1802 – 16 April 1890) was an English composer and writer on music. Life Barnett was the eldest son of a Prussian Jew named Bernhard Beer, who changed his surname on settling in England as a jeweller. According to some h ...

created another opera on the same theme, '' Fair Rosamond'', and ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British political and cultural news magazine. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving magazine in the world. ''The Spectator'' is politically conservative, and its principal subject a ...

'' reminded its readers that Clayton's ''Rosamond'' had been ‘an utter failure’ that ‘had the effect of paralysing every effort to perpetuate or revive the fading glory of English dramatic music. Clayton's ''Rosamond'' was the funeral dirge of the English opera.’ Addison never wrote another libretto. Clayton wrote music for a work called 'The Passion of Sappho, and Feast of Alexander’ that was performed at his house in York Buildings, but he appears never to have written again for a professional production.

Legacy

The score was published in 1707 by John Walsh and P. Randall. The libretto was published by Jacob Tonson in the same year. After the failure of ''Rosamund'' there were no further attempts to write a libretto in English until 1733, when Addison's libretto was set to new music by

Thomas Arne Thomas Augustine Arne (; 12 March 17105 March 1778) was an English composer. He is best known for his patriotic song " Rule, Britannia!" and the song " A-Hunting We Will Go", the latter composed for a 1777 production of '' The Beggar's Opera'', w ...

External links

digital copy of scoredigital copy of libretto

References