Comus is a masque

Masque

The masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment which flourished in 16th and early 17th century Europe, though it was developed earlier in Italy, in forms including the intermedio...

 in three acts by composer

Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

 Thomas Arne. The work uses an English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 libretto

Libretto

A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...

 by John Dalton

John Dalton

John Dalton FRS was an English chemist, meteorologist and physicist. He is best known for his pioneering work in the development of modern atomic theory, and his research into colour blindness .-Early life:John Dalton was born into a Quaker family at Eaglesfield, near Cockermouth, Cumberland,...

 that is based on John Milton

John Milton

John Milton was an English poet, polemicist, a scholarly man of letters, and a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell...

's 1634 masque of the same name

Comus (John Milton)

Comus is a masque in honour of chastity, written by John Milton. It was first presented on Michaelmas, 1634, before John Egerton, 1st Earl of Bridgewater at Ludlow Castle in celebration of the Earl's new post as Lord President of Wales.Known colloquially as Comus, the mask's actual full title is A...

. The work premiered at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane

Theatre Royal, Drury Lane

The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane is a West End theatre in Covent Garden, in the City of Westminster, a borough of London. The building faces Catherine Street and backs onto Drury Lane. The building standing today is the most recent in a line of four theatres at the same location dating back to 1663,...

 in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 on 4 March 1738.

History

Comus was Arne’s first major success, and the masque enjoyed regular revivals throughout his lifetime. The work bosts some of his finest music with songs like "Now Phoebus sinketh in the West" and "Would you taste the noontide air" displaying a fresh lyrical style. The work was published in 1740 but without the recitatives and choruses. The original score containing the additional music is now a lost, but a copy of that score, made around 1785, does exist with all of the original music and some additional pieces taken from Handel

HANDEL

HANDEL was the code-name for the UK's National Attack Warning System in the Cold War. It consisted of a small console consisting of two microphones, lights and gauges. The reason behind this was to provide a back-up if anything failed....

’s L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato

L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato

L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato is a pastoral ode by George Frideric Handel based on the poetry of John Milton.-History:Handel composed the work over the period of 19 January to 4 February 1740, and the work was premiered on 27 February 1740 at the Royal Theatre of Lincoln's Inn Fields...

that supplement Arne’s limited chorus writing.

Roles

Role	Voice type	Premiere Cast, 4 March 1738 (Conductor: - Thomas Arne)
A Lady	non-singing role	Susanna Maria Cibber
Comus, a Magician	non-singing role	James Quin James Quin James Quin was an English actor of Irish descent.Quin was born in London. He was educated at Dublin, and probably spent a short time at Trinity College....
Euphrosyne, a Grace	soprano Soprano A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...	Catherine "Kitty" Clive Kitty Clive Catherine "Kitty" Clive was a British actress of considerable repute on the stages of London.Most likely born in London, her father William Raftor was an Irishman and former officer in the French army under Louis XIV...
Sabrina, a Nymph	soprano Soprano A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...	Cecilia Arne (born Cecilia Young)
First brother of the lady	non-singing role	William Milward
Second brother of the lady	non-singing role	Theophilus Cibber Theophilus Cibber Theophilus Cibber was an English actor, playwright, author, and son of the actor-manager Colley Cibber.He began acting at an early age, and followed his father into theatrical management. In 1727, Alexander Pope satirized Theophilus Cibber in his Dunciad as a youth who "thrusts his person full...
Assorted spirits, revelers in Comus's pleasure crew, etc.	various voice types	John Beard John Beard (tenor) John Beard was an English tenor of the 18th century. He is best remembered for creating an extensive number of roles in the operas and oratorios of George Frideric Handel.... , Cecilia Arne, Kitty Clive Kitty Clive Catherine "Kitty" Clive was a British actress of considerable repute on the stages of London.Most likely born in London, her father William Raftor was an Irishman and former officer in the French army under Louis XIV...

Synopsis

A lady is lost in the forrest where the magician Comus dwels; masquerading as a shepherd he entices her to his palace. A spirit warns the lady’s two brothers that their sister is in Comus’s control. They are waylayed by Comus’s stooges. The spirit supplies the brothers with an enchanted potion to help them thwart Comus’s spell over the lady. A banquet is organized in Comus’s palace and the lady, succumbed to the power of the spell, is diverted by the songs and dances of the festivities. Comus forcefully encourages her to drink from his cup but the brothers dash in just in time, putting Comus to flight. The nymph Sabrina frees the lady from the magician's spell and all rejoice the triumph of virtue in the masque's final chorus.