Biography
Thomas Augustine Arne was born in London in 1710 and educated at Eton for a legal career, but turned to music against his father's wishes. He worked at London theatres including Lincoln's Inn Fields, Drury Lane and Covent Garden, composing around 90 stage works alongside oratorios and incidental music for Shakespeare productions. He achieved lasting fame with the patriotic song 'Rule, Britannia!' from the masque 'Alfred' (1740), and with 'Artaxerxes' (1762) created what remained for decades the only full-length opera seria in English. His sister Susannah Maria Cibber became a celebrated actress and singer, and his son Michael Arne was also a composer. Arne died in London in 1778.
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