Theatre History II Entry 6

The Cast of the Opera

According Oxford Reference Online “A Midsummer Night’s Dream: a comedy by Shakespeare, written probably about 1595 or 1596, printed in quarto in 1600 and 1619. It has no single major source, but Shakespeare drew, among other authors, on Chaucer, Golding's translation of Ovid, and Apuleius' Golden Ass”. As I said in a previous entry he also drew on personal experiences for his writings.

Later an Opera was written by Benjamin Britten to a libretto by him and Peter Pears. It was written in three acts in 1959. The opera came together very quickly. It was conceived in August of 1959 and performed in June of 1960. It was very successful and performed in many locations over the years.

"Midsummer Night's Dream, A"  The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. Ed. Margaret Drabble and Jenny Stringer. Oxford university Press, 2007. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press.  Central Washington University.  7 March 2011  http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t54.e4096

Arnold Whittall "Midsummer Night's Dream, A"  The Grove Book of Opera. Ed. Stanley Sadie and Laura Macy. Oxford University Press, 2008. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press.  Central Washington University.  7 March 2011  <http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t261.e173>