Semi-opera

The terms "semi-opera", "dramatic k opera" and "English opera" were all applied to Restoration entertainments that combined spoken plays with masque-like episodes employing singing and dancing

List of English semi-operas#

Macbeth (1673) libretto by William Davenant after Shakespeare’s Macbeth; music by Matthew Locke
The Tempest, or The Enchanted Island (1674) libretto by Thomas Shadwell after John Dryden and William Davenant’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Tempest; music by Matthew Locke, Giovanni Battista Draghi and Pelham Humfrey
Calisto, or The Chaste Nymph (1675) libretto by John Crowne; music by Nathaniel Staggins
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 (1685) libretto by John Dryden; music by Louis Grabu
Dioclesian (1690) libretto by Thomas Betterton after the play The Prophetess, by John Fletcher and Philip Massinger; music by Henry Purcell
King Arthur (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; music by Henry Purcell
Timon of Athens (1694), music by Henry Purcell
Macbeth (1695) libretto by William Davenant after Shakespeare’s Macbeth; 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
Brutus of Alba (1696) libretto by George Powell; 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; 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, 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; 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)

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

Genre family: Opera genres