What is the history of opera development in Britain?

Britain was also a turbulent country in the first half of the 17th century. The Puritans (Calvinist Protestants who were committed to eliminating the remaining Catholic elements in the Church of England) were the main component of the bourgeois new aristocracy and the king. prevailed in the struggle and seized power through the British bourgeois revolution and civil war. The Calvinist teachings of the Puritan faith promoted asceticism and sought to avoid all earthly pleasures. Music was regarded as evil and a means of seducing people into dangerous pleasures and was banned. At that time, opera had just been introduced to Britain. After the Puritans came to power, they strictly prohibited all opera houses from operating, closed all opera houses in Britain, and abolished the music in the original British religious ceremonies. British opera at that time fell into a state of silence.

In 1658, the Stuart dynasty was restored in England. This historical setback turned out to be a turning point for the development of British music. The most important British musician of the late 17th century was Purcell. In his short life, Purcell created a large number of excellent religious music, songs, and drama scores. His most important contribution was the opera in his later years, which has obvious British citizen taste and national characteristics. His masterpiece "Dey and Dado" has become A rare masterpiece among British operas. After Purcell's death, the development of British opera came to a standstill again, and Italian operas flooded British theaters. Handel settled in England in 1714, bringing vitality to the dull British opera world. His opera "Rinaldo" and other operas were very popular in the UK. However, at the end of the 1820s, traditional Italian operas gradually lost their market because their boring scripts, empty contents and similar plots could not adapt to the tastes of the growing prosperous citizen class that developed with trade and colonization. At this time, "The Beggar's Opera" (lyrics by John Gay, music by Pepush), which criticized current ills, was staged in London. It was based on daily life, using popular and humorous dialogues and popular tunes, and won wide acclaim from the citizens. The play made a ruthless satire on the Italian opera represented by Handel, which caused a heavy blow to Italian opera in the UK. The opera house run by Handel was finally closed due to losses. At this time, Handel turned his energy to the creation of oratorios, and the dominance of Italian opera in Britain came to an end.