The comedy sensation of 1737 was written by a bassoonist in
Handel's orchestra. A parody of contemporary Italian opera,
the ridiculous text in which some very down-to-earth characters
face up to the local dragon is combined with grand and elegant
music. The Dragon's success ensured that Italian opera
quickly became unfashionable. Even Handel thought highly of
it, perhaps because much of the music reflects the charm of
his own.
Lampe's first operas were serious. However he discovered his
true metier, the satire of Italian opera, with The Opera
of Operas; or Tom Thumb the Great, an adaptation
of Fielding.
The Dragon of Wantley was first seen on 10 May at the
Little Theatre in the Haymarket, and quickly transferred to
Covent Garden. The Dragon was played by the bass Thomas
Reinhold, and was partly inspired by a ridiculous monster currently
appearing at Covent Garden in Handel's Giustino. Thomas
Salway played the hero by taking off the great Castrato Farinelli,
while Margery and Mauxalinda, rivals for Moore's affections,
were played by the sisters Isabella and Esther Young. Isabella,
Thomas Arne's sister-in-law, married Lampe in 1738.
Henry Carey's text for the Dragon is similar to Gay's
for The Beggar's Opera in that Italian opera is satirised
essentially by transferring its artificial conventions and high-flown
sentiments to a down-to-earth English setting.
Carey's text was reprinted fourteen times in little more than
a year and the work held the stage until 1782. It was the most
popular English comic opera of the century after The Beggar's
Opera.
Directed by Jack Edwards
Musical Director: Peter Holman
Set and Costume Design: Ashley Shairp
Lighting Design: Peter Milne
Photography: Caroline Anderson
Dramatis Personae
A monstrous Dragon
Margery - A Heroine
Gubbins - Her Father
Mauxalinda - A scarlet woman
Moore of Moore Hall, a hero, with his faithful servant.
