Alzuma
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Written byArthur Murphy
Date premiered23 February 1773
Place premieredTheatre Royal, Covent Garden, London
Original languageEnglish
| Alzuma | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Written by | Arthur Murphy |
| Date premiered | 23 February 1773 |
| Place premiered | Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, London |
| Original language | English |
| Genre | Tragedy |
| Setting | Cusco, Peru |
Alzuma is a 1773 historical tragedy by the Irish writer Arthur Murphy. It premiered in London at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden on 23 February 1773.[1] The original cast included William 'Gentleman' Smith as Alzuma, Thomas Hull as Pizarro, Robert Bensley as Don Carlos and Elizabeth Hartley as Orellana. The music was composed for the production by Thomas Arne. It is based on the Conquest of Peru by Francisco Pizarro in the sixteenth century. Murphy suggested that the British victory at Havana in 1762 influenced his sympathetic depiction of the Peruvians and hostility to Spain.[2] Richard Brinsley Sheridan's later play Pizarro dealt with the same subject and themes.
