There are a number of plays and operas that use the name Masaniello as main (abbreviated) title:

1 The character
2 The plays
3 Masaniello, The Fisherman of Naples (1825)
4 Masaniello, or The Dumb Girl of Portici by Thomas S. Cooke and Barham Livius, with libretto by James Kenney (1829)
5 Masaniello, or The Dumb Girl of Portici by Henry M. Milner (1830)
6 Masaniello, or The Fish-o'-Man of Naples (1857)
7 Sources
8 Return to

The character

Masaniello (i.e. Tommaso Aniello, 1622 – 1647)[1] was an Italian fisherman who became leader of the revolt against the rule of Habsburg Spain in Naples in 1647.

The plays

Masaniello, The Fisherman of Naples (1825)

Masaniello, the Fisherman of Naples is an historic play in five acts by George Soane, with incidental music by Henry Rowley Bishop.

The original text

First performed in English at the Drury Lane Theatre, London, on February 17, 1825. Published in London by J. Miller, 1825.

Translations and adaptations

Performance history in South Africa

1859: A play called Masaniello was performed in the Harrington Street Theatre, Cape Town, by the Cape Town Dramatic Club on 27 May: Retribution (Taylor) with Retribution (Taylor) and a performance of the brass band of the 59th Regiment. The text used may have the original play or opera by Soane, but it is more likely to have been Brough's burlesque version.

Masaniello, or The Dumb Girl of Portici by Thomas S. Cooke and Barham Livius, with libretto by James Kenney (1829)

Masaniello, or The Dumb Girl of Portici is an opera by Thomas S. Cooke and Barham Livius, with libretto by James Kenney,

The original text

Based on the French opera, La Muette de Portici[2] by Auber, Scribe and Lavigne, it was first performed in English at the Drury Lane Theatre, London, on May 4, 1829

Translations and adaptations

Performance history in South Africa

1859: A play simply called Masaniello was performed in the Harrington Street Theatre, Cape Town, by the Cape Town Dramatic Club on 27 May: Retribution (Taylor) with Retribution (Taylor) and a performance of the brass band of the 59th Regiment. The text used may have the original play by Soane or this opera , but it is more likely to have been Brough's burlesque version of Soane's work (below).

Masaniello, or The Dumb Girl of Portici by Henry M. Milner (1830)

Title Masaniello; Or, The Dumb Girl of Portici: A Musical Drama in Three Acts Author Henry M. Milner ()[3] Publisher Cumberland, 1835

Masaniello, or The Fish-o'-Man of Naples (1857)

Masaniello, or The Fish-o'-Man of Naples is a burlesque by Robert Barnabas Brough (1828–1860)[4]

The original text

First performed at the Olympic Theatre, London, in on 2 July, 1857.

Translations and adaptations

Performance history in South Africa

1859: A play called simply Masaniello was performed in the Harrington Street Theatre, Cape Town, by the Cape Town Dramatic Club on 27 May: Retribution (Taylor) with Retribution (Taylor) and a performance of the brass band of the 59th Regiment. The text used was most probably Brough's burlesque version, which had first been produced in England two years earlier.