Jane Girdham. English Opera in Late Eighteenth-Century London: Stephen Storace at Drury Lane. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1997. xiv, 272 pp. ISBN 0-19-816254-5 (hardcover). Throughout the eighteenth century, Londoners enjoyed rich and varied theatrical fare. King's Theatre in the Haymarket presented Italian opera on Tuesdays and Saturdays, while the two Theatres Royal, Drury Lane and Covent Garden, were open six days a week from September until June, and presented mixed bills plays, musicals various kinds, and English opera. evening's entertainment at the latter theatres consisted a mainpiece and an afterpiece, interspersed with music, singing, dancing, and other musical entertainment. popularity English opera has traditionally been understated, thus it may surprise the reader to know that in the period from 1776 to the end the eighteenth century, the twelve most performed mainpieces in the London theatres, six were English operas, as were the top nine of the twelve most popular afterpieces.1 Until now, the theatrical history the eighteenth century has been written largely by literary historians, and their work has not reflected the importance music in the London theatres. For example, the standard reference work on eighteenth-century theatre, London Stage, has a 218-page introduction to Part 5, 1776-1800, in which there is virtually no mention the popularity opera, or composers, singers, or musicians in the theatres. It is refreshing, therefore, to see this balance redressed through Jane Girdham' s book. That said, the content this book does not entirely reflect its title. While undoubtedly important in the context theatrical music, and music at Drury Lane in particular, Storace was only one many composers working in London in the last quarter the eighteenth century. One cannot attempt a comprehensive history such as English Opera in Late Eighteenth-Century London implies, without some discussion the works other prolific composers the period, such as Samuel Arnold, Charles Dibdin, the Linleys, and William Shield, among others. William Shield was the house composer at Covent Garden from 1784 until 1797, and wrote over twenty-five operatic works during that period.2 Samuel Arnold composed for the Little Theatre in the Haymarket for twenty-five years, beginning in 1777, and wrote, or contributed to, over seventy operas.3 Their contribution to the sheer volume English operas in the last twenty years the eighteenth century was tremendous, and the popularity their works is clear by the number performances they received. Two Arnold's operas. Spanish Barber (Little Theatre, 1777) and Inkle and Y arico (Little Theatre, 1 787) received together 306 performances between 1777 and 1800; Shield's afterpiece opera Rosina (Covent Garden, 1782) was performed 201 times in the same period. statistics are even more impressive when we consider performances afterpieces. I noted above that the first nine most performed afterpieces were all operas. Three were by Shield, with a total 501 performances, and four were by Arnold, with an astounding total 683 performances.4 It is reasonable to expect, then, that a book entitled English Opera in Late Eighteenth-Century London would contain a substantial discussion at least some the other composers working alongside Storace. But Girdham confines herself to one sentence dealing with their activities: The other theatres also had house composers: William Shield worked at Covent Garden in the last decades the century, and Samuel Arnold wrote the majority new musical works for the Little Theatre in the 1790s (p. 79). There is also a brief and general comparison Storace's works with those his English contemporaries (Storace in Context, 131-35). I think that this is hardly comprehensive enough to justify the book's main title, and indeed could cause problems. There are few reference works on eighteenth-century English opera, and the casual reader might well be led, from reading this book, to the incorrect assumption that Storace was the only notable composer the period. …
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Oct 1, 2023
David Chandler 
Open Access