<P> The European Renaissance saw older forms evolve into two antecedents of musical theatre : commedia dell'arte , where raucous clowns improvised familiar stories , and later , opera buffa . In England , Elizabethan and Jacobean plays frequently included music , and short musical plays began to be included in an evenings ' dramatic entertainments . Court masques developed during the Tudor period that involved music , dancing , singing and acting , often with expensive costumes and a complex stage design . These developed into sung plays that are recognizable as English operas , the first usually being thought of as The Siege of Rhodes ( 1656 ) . In France , meanwhile , Molière turned several of his farcical comedies into musical entertainments with songs ( music provided by Jean Baptiste Lully ) and dance in the late 17th century . These influenced a brief period of English opera by composers such as John Blow and Henry Purcell . </P>
<P> The European Renaissance saw older forms evolve into two antecedents of musical theatre : commedia dell'arte , where raucous clowns improvised familiar stories , and later , opera buffa . In England , Elizabethan and Jacobean plays frequently included music , and short musical plays began to be included in an evenings ' dramatic entertainments . Court masques developed during the Tudor period that involved music , dancing , singing and acting , often with expensive costumes and a complex stage design . These developed into sung plays that are recognizable as English operas , the first usually being thought of as The Siege of Rhodes ( 1656 ) . In France , meanwhile , Molière turned several of his farcical comedies into musical entertainments with songs ( music provided by Jean Baptiste Lully ) and dance in the late 17th century . These influenced a brief period of English opera by composers such as John Blow and Henry Purcell . </P>
what is considered to be the first musical in western musical theatre
what is considered to be the first musical in western musical theatre
The Siege of Rhodes
The Siege of Rhodes