The terms "semi-opera", "dramatic ''kopera" and "English opera" were all applied to Restoration entertainments that combined spoken plays with

masque The masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment that flourished in 16th- and early 17th-century Europe, though it was developed earlier in Italy, in forms including the intermedio (a public version of the masque was the pageant). A mas ...

-like episodes employing singing and dancing characters. They usually included

machines A machine is a physical system that uses power to apply forces and control movement to perform an action. The term is commonly applied to artificial devices, such as those employing engines or motors, but also to natural biological macromolec ...

in the manner of the restoration spectacular. The first examples were the Shakespeare adaptations produced by Thomas Betterton with music by Matthew Locke. After Locke's death, a second flowering produced the semi-operas of

Henry Purcell Henry Purcell (, rare: ; September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer of Baroque music, most remembered for his more than 100 songs; a tragic opera, Dido and Aeneas, ''Dido and Aeneas''; and his incidental music to a version o ...

, notably ''

King Arthur According to legends, King Arthur (; ; ; ) was a king of Great Britain, Britain. He is a folk hero and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In Wales, Welsh sources, Arthur is portrayed as a le ...

'' and ''

The Fairy-Queen ''The Fairy-Queen'' (1692; Purcell catalogue number Z.629) is a semi-opera by Henry Purcell; a "Restoration spectacular". The libretto is an anonymous adaptation of William Shakespeare's comedy ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''. First performed in ...

''. Semi-opera received a deathblow when the

Lord Chamberlain The Lord Chamberlain of the Household is the most senior officer of the Royal Households of the United Kingdom, Royal Household of the United Kingdom, supervising the departments which support and provide advice to the Monarchy of the United Ki ...

separately licensed plays without music and the new Italian

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

. Semi-operas were performed with singing, speaking and dancing roles. When music was written, it was usually for moments in the play immediately following either love scenes or those concerning the supernatural. It has been observedCurtis Price and Louise K. Stein: "Semi-opera" in ''New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' that several of Calderón's ''comedia''s with music by Juan Hidalgo de Polanco are closer to semi-opera than to the pastoral

Zarzuela () is a Spanish lyric-dramatic genre that alternates between spoken and sung scenes, the latter incorporating operatic and popular songs, as well as dance. The etymology of the name is uncertain, but some propose it may derive from the name o ...

List of English semi-operas

*''Macbeth'' (1673) libretto by

William Davenant Sir William Davenant (baptised 3 March 1606 – 7 April 1668), also spelled D'Avenant, was an English poet and playwright. Along with Thomas Killigrew, Davenant was one of the rare figures in English Renaissance theatre whose career spanned bo ...

after

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

's ''

Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

''; music by Matthew Locke *''The Tempest, or The Enchanted Island'' (1674) libretto by

Thomas Shadwell Thomas Shadwell ( – 19 November 1692) was an English poet and playwright who was appointed Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, Poet Laureate in 1689. Life Shadwell was born at either Bromehill Farm, Weeting-with-Broomhill or Santon House, Ly ...

after

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 ...

and William Davenant's adaptation of Shakespeare's ''

The Tempest ''The Tempest'' is a Shakespeare's plays, play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1610–1611, and thought to be one of the last plays that he wrote alone. After the first scene, which takes place on a ship at sea during a tempest, th ...

''; music by Matthew Locke, Giovanni Battista Draghi and

Pelham Humfrey Pelham Humfrey (''Humphrey, Humphrys'') (1647 in London – 14 July 1674 in Windsor) was an English composer. He was the first of the new generation of English composers at the beginning of the Restoration to rise to prominence. Life and career ...

*''Calisto, or The Chaste Nymph'' (1675) libretto by John Crowne; music by

Nathaniel Staggins Nathaniel is an English variant of the biblical Hebrew name Nathanael. It can be a given or surname. People with the name Nathaniel Given name * Nathaniel Archibald (1952–2018), American basketball player * Nate Archibald (born 1948), Americ ...

*'' Psyche'' (1675) libretto by Thomas Shadwell; music by Matthew Locke *''Circe'' (1677) libretto by Charles Davenant; music by John Banister *''The Lancashire Witches and Tegue O'Divelly the Irish Priest'' (1681) libretto by Thomas Shadwell; music by John Eccles *''

Albion and Albanius ''Albion and Albanius'' is an opera, closely resembling a French ''tragédie en musique'', by Louis Grabu with an English libretto by John Dryden. The words were written by Dryden in 1680. It was initially intended as a prologue to his opera ' ...

'' (1685) libretto by John Dryden; music by

Louis Grabu Louis Grabu, Grabut, Grabue, or Grebus (fl. 1665 – 1690, died after 1693) was a Catalan-born, French-trained composer and violinist who was mainly active in England. While he was probably born in Catalonia – he was later referred to as ' ...

*''

Dioclesian ''Dioclesian'' (''The Prophetess: or, The History of Dioclesian'') is an English tragicomic semi-opera in five acts by Henry Purcell to a libretto by Thomas Betterton based on the play '' The Prophetess'', by John Fletcher and Philip Massinger ...

'' (1690) libretto by Thomas Betterton after the play ''The Prophetess'', by John Fletcher and

Philip Massinger Philip Massinger (1583 – 17 March 1640) was an English dramatist. His plays, including '' A New Way to Pay Old Debts'', '' The City Madam'', and '' The Roman Actor'', are noted for their satire and realism, and their political and soci ...

; music by

*''

'' (1691) libretto by John Dryden; music by Henry Purcell *'' The Fairy Queen'' (1692) libretto by an anonymous author after Shakespeare's ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a Comedy (drama), comedy play written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One s ...

''; music by Henry Purcell * ''Timon of Athens'' (1694), music by Henry Purcell *''Macbeth'' (1695) libretto by

after

's ''

''; music by John Eccles and Godfrey Finger *'' The Indian Queen'' (1695) libretto adapted version of the play by Sir Robert Howard and John Dryden; music by Henry Purcell, Act V completed by

Daniel Purcell Daniel Purcell (c. 1664 – buried 26 November 1717) was an English Baroque composer, the younger brother or cousin of Henry Purcell. Biography Like Henry Purcell before him, Daniel Purcell joined the choir of the Chapel Royal at about the age ...

*'' Brutus of Alba'' (1696) anonymous libretto; music by Daniel Purcell *''Cinthia and Endimion, or The Loves of the Deities'' (1696) libretto by Thomas Durfey; music by Daniel Purcell, Richard Leveridge, Jeremiah Clarke, Henry Purcell and David Underwood *''The World in the Moon'' (1697) libretto by

Elkanah Settle Elkanah Settle (1 February 1648 – 12 February 1724) was an English poet and playwright. Biography He was born at Dunstable, and entered Trinity College, Oxford, in 1666, but left without taking a degree. His first tragedy, '' Cambyses, King ...

; music by Daniel Purcell, Jeremiah Clarke and Henry Purcell *'' Rinaldo and Armida'' (1698) libretto by John Dennis; music by John Eccles *''The Island Princess'' (1699) libretto by

Peter Motteux Peter Anthony Motteux (born Pierre Antoine Motteux ; 25 February 1663 – 18 February 1718) was a French-born English author, playwright, and translator. Motteux was a significant figure in the evolution of English journalism in his era, as the ...

, adapted from plays by John Fletcher and Nahum Tate; music by Daniel Purcell, Richard Leveridge and Jeremiah Clarke *''The Grove, or Love's Paradise'' (1700) libretto by John Oldmixon; music by Daniel Purcell *''The Mad Lover'' (1700) libretto by Peter Motteux after the play by John Fletcher; music by John Eccles and Daniel Purcell *''Alexander the Great'' (1701) anonymous libretto after ''The Rival Queens'' by

Nathaniel Lee Nathaniel Lee (c. 1653 – 6 May 1692) was an English dramatist. He was the son of Dr Richard Lee, a Presbyterian clergyman who was rector of Hatfield and held many preferments under the Commonwealth; Dr Lee was chaplain to George Monck, afterw ...

; music by Godfrey Finger and Daniel Purcell *'' The Virgin Prophetess, or The Fate of Troy'' (1701) libretto by Elkanah Settle; music by Godfrey Finger *''The British Enchanters, or No Magic Like Love'' (1706) libretto by George Granville, Lord Lansdowne; music by John Eccles, Bartholomew Issack and William Corbett *''Wonders in the Sun, or The Kingdom of the Birds'' (1706) libretto by Thomas Durfey; music by John Smith, Samuel Akeroyde, John Eccles, Giovanni Battista Draghi, Lully and Durfey *''The Tempest'' (1712) libretto adapted by Thomas Shadwell from the Dryden-Davenant version of Shakespeare's play; music possibly by John Weldon (long attributed to Henry Purcell)

Notes

References

* Warrack, John and West, Ewan (1992), ''The Oxford Dictionary of Opera'', 782 pages, * ''A Companion to Restoration Drama'' ed. Susan J. Owen (Blackwell, 2008): chapter by Todd S. Gilman {{Opera genres Italian opera terminology Opera genres