# The Village Opera

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/The_Village_Opera
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/The_Village_Opera.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Village_Opera
> Source revision: 1102682885
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{short description|1729 ballad opera by Charles Johnson}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox play
| name              =The Village Opera
| image             =File:Image taken from page 41 of 'The Village Opera (in three acts, in prose; with songs) ... To which is added the musick to each song' (11219046244).jpg
| image_size        =
| caption           = 
| writer            = [Charles Johnson](/source/Charles_Johnson_(writer))
| setting           = 
| date of premiere  = 6 February 1729<ref>Burling p.127</ref>
| original language = English
| place             = [Theatre Royal, Drury Lane](/source/Theatre_Royal%2C_Drury_Lane)
| series            = 
| subject           = 
| genre             = Comedy
}}
'''''The Village Opera''''' is a 1729 [ballad opera](/source/ballad_opera) by the British writer [Charles Johnson](/source/Charles_Johnson_(writer)). It was part of a group of ballad operas produced in the wake of the great success of [John Gay](/source/John_Gay)'s ''[The Beggar's Opera](/source/The_Beggar's_Opera)''.

The original Drury Lane cast included [John Harper](/source/John_Harper_(actor)) as Sir Nicholas Wiseacre, [Benjamin Griffin](/source/Benjamin_Griffin_(actor)) as Sir William Freeman, [Charles Williams](/source/Charles_Williams_(stage_actor)) as Freeman, [Benjamin Johnson](/source/Benjamin_Johnson_(actor)) as Lucas, [Joe Miller](/source/Joe_Miller_(actor)) as Brush, [James Oates](/source/James_Oates) as File, [Edward Berry](/source/Edward_Berry_(actor)) as Hobinol, [Kitty Clive](/source/Kitty_Clive) as Rosella, [Sarah Thurmond](/source/Sarah_Thurmond) as Betty and [Frances Cross](/source/Frances_Cross) as Lady Wiseacre.

[Thomas Arne](/source/Thomas_Arne) later wrote ''[Love in a Village](/source/Love_in_a_Village)'' from a libretto based on Johnson's original. In the twentieth century [Michael Tippett](/source/Michael_Tippett) composed his own version of Johnson's work.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* Burling, William J. ''A Checklist of New Plays and Entertainments on the London Stage, 1700-1737''. Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press, 1992.
* Nicoll, Allardyce. ''A History of Early Eighteenth Century Drama: 1700-1750''. CUP Archive, 1927.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Village Opera}}
Category:1729 operas
Category:Ballad operas
Category:English-language operas
Category:Plays by Charles Johnson

{{1720s-play-stub}}

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [The Village Opera](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Village_Opera) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Village_Opera?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.