John Eccles, Semele: An opera

Who composed the first English opera? In between the death of Purcell and Handel’s arrival in London, several composers tried their hand at creating a fully sung, English-language equivalent of the revered Italian opera model. Daniel Purcell was one, but his Orlando Furioso never eventuated; another was Thomas Clayton, whose pasticcio Arsinoe, Queen of Cyprus (January, i7o5) succeeded but whose Rosamond (March I7o7) did not; a third was Jacob Greber, whose Gli amori ’Ergato (April, I7o 5) marked the opening of the Queen’s Theatre at the Haymarket.