Alonzo the Brave

There appear to have been a number of stage versions that include this phrase Alonzo the Brave in their title, all apparently versions of the famous ballad The Celebrated History of Alonzo the Brave and the Fair Imogen by Matthew Gregory Lewis (“Monk Lewis”) (1775–1818)[1]. Among them have been texts by Didelot (1801), T.J. Dibdin (1821 and 1826), E. Fitzball (1850), H.T. Craven (1855) and Francis Cowley Burnand (1855).

The ballad known as The Celebrated History of Alonzo the Brave and the Fair Imogen

The ballad tells of Alonzo, who bids Imogene be faithful to him when he leaves for the wars in Palestine, but another wooer wins her hand. At the wedding, the spectre of Alonzo, a rotting skeleton clad in armor, appears and bears the false Imogene away, to the horror of all. It is said that three times a year the couple will appear at a ball and dance

On 6 April, 1858 the ballad of The Celebrated History of Alonzo the Brave and the Fair Imogen was apparently read as part of an evening's entertainment presented in the Harrington Street Theatre, Cape Town, by Sefton Parry and his company. The programme also included a performance of Fitzball's "Celebrated Nautical Romantic Drama", The Flying Dutchman, The Lottery Ticket (Beazley) and a song sung by J.E.H. English.

Alonzo the Brave and The Fair Imogene, a burlesque in one act by H.T. Craven

First performed at the Strand Theatre on 29 January 1855.

Alonzo the Brave, or Faust and the Fair Imogene , a burlesque by Francis Cowley Burnand ()[]

First performed at the Strand Theatre London on 5 February, 1855 and published by T.H. Lacy in the same year.

Sources

Bartleby.com: Text of the ballad by Lewis[2]

http://www.fresnostate.edu/folklore/ballads/RcAtBaFI.html

Allardyce Nicoll. 1975. A History of English Drama 1660-1900: Late 19th Century Drama 1850-1900 Cambridge University Press: p. 13[3] and p. 287[4]

52952 A - Z. LORD CHAMBERLAIN'S PLAYS, 1852 - 1866. January - February 1855. [5]