'THE GAS LIGHTS ARE NOW INTRODUCED OVER THE WHOLE STAGE'
New Theatre Royal, English Opera, Strand. This present Friday, August 22, 1817, Will be performed Eighth Time an entirely New Pastoral Serio-Comick Opera, called The Persian Hunters, Or, the Rose of Gurgistan...
[London].
[s.n.], [1817].
Dimensions 190 x 305mm.
Single leaf broadside. Some creasing and browning. Inked '65' to head of recto.
An early playbill - marking the eighth performance - for Charles Edward Horn's (1786-1849) 'Serio-Comick Opera' The Persian Hunters, which was first staged just nine days earlier on August 13, 1817. Based upon a Persian tale in which a Sultan conceives of the notion of romantic love, seeking a partner who was ignorant of his royal station and attracted to him for what the La Belle Assemblee described in a contemporary review as 'his mere person'. The periodical notes that the 'scenery is peculiarly good, pleasing and characteristic; the music is appropriate, accordance with the scenery, characters, and story'.
The building which later housed the English Opera House had been used to stage exhibitions and performances of various types (including, at different, points those of the Royal Academy and Madam Tussauds) since 1765 but was not licensed as a patent theatre until 1809. Rebuilt in 1816 by Arnold, it re-opened and operated under this name until 1830, when it burned down and later replaced by the Lyceum Theatre.
The summer of 1817 marked a time of great innovation for the London stage; both the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, and the English Opera House introduced gas lighting throughout, replacing candles - changing the atmosphere of the production, and theatre ownership a somewhat safer proposition. The proud inclusion of 'The GAS LIGHTS are now introduced over the whole Stage' as the headline of this playbill demonstrates the marketing emphasis that was put on the endeavour.
£ 375.00
Antiquates Ref: 33185
The building which later housed the English Opera House had been used to stage exhibitions and performances of various types (including, at different, points those of the Royal Academy and Madam Tussauds) since 1765 but was not licensed as a patent theatre until 1809. Rebuilt in 1816 by Arnold, it re-opened and operated under this name until 1830, when it burned down and later replaced by the Lyceum Theatre.
The summer of 1817 marked a time of great innovation for the London stage; both the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, and the English Opera House introduced gas lighting throughout, replacing candles - changing the atmosphere of the production, and theatre ownership a somewhat safer proposition. The proud inclusion of 'The GAS LIGHTS are now introduced over the whole Stage' as the headline of this playbill demonstrates the marketing emphasis that was put on the endeavour.
