Alfred (play)

Alfred is a sung stage work about Alfred the Great with music by Thomas Arne and a libretto by David Mallet and James Thomson. The work was initially devised as a masque in 1740 and was first performed at Cliveden, country home of Frederick, Prince of Wales, on 1 August 1740, to commemorate the accession of George I and the birthday of the Princess Augusta. Arne later revised the work turning it into an all-sung oratorio in 1745 and then an opera in 1753. It is best known for its "Rule, Britannia!".

Frederick, a German prince who had grown up in Hanover and at whose house the masque was first performed, had arrived in Britain as an adult and was on very bad terms with his father. He made considerable efforts to ingratiate himself and build a following among his subjects-to-be (although he never ultimately reigned, as he died before his father in 1751). A masque linking the prince with both the ancient hero-king Alfred the Great's victories over the Vikings, together with the contemporary issue of building British sea-power, went well with his political plans and aspirations.

Thomson was a Scottish poet and playwright who spent most of his adult life in England and hoped to make his fortune at Court. He had an interest in helping foster a British identity, including and transcending the older English and Scottish identities.

In its original form, Alfred contained only seven musical numbers, including the famous patriotic song "Rule, Britannia!" With successive additions, Arne significantly expanded the music, and the final version was an all-sung opera in three acts. Today, the third and final version of the work is the one that is most often performed.

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