Opera in the Repertoire · Classical
Bombastes Furioso
premiered 1810
Bombastes Furioso, subtitled A Burlesque Tragic Opera, was written in 1810 by William Barnes Rhodes (sometimes credited as Thomas Barnes Rhodes).
The first authorized printed edition was published in 1822.
It is a drama with comic songs, that satirizes the bombastic style of other tragedies that were in fashion at the time. It was very popular throughout the 19th century—its popularity was sufficient for two quotations to appear in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, and for Lewis Carroll to refer to it in his poem "Melancholetta". The part of Bombastes was first played by Richard John Smith.
Text from the Wikipedia article "Bombastes Furioso", licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.