Dibdin, Charles - The Touchstone or Harlequin Traveller, 1779

Facsimile: Printed score, Thompson (1779)
MS libretto, The Huntington Library LA464
Introduction by Anne Dhu Shapiro

In The Touchstone all the elements of classic British pantomime are in place: a central theme or plot made known in speech and embellished with choruses, airs and occasional recitatives, interlaced with the traditional antics of commedia characters, who perform tricks and comic turns to the accompaniment of instrumental pieces, the staging incorporating as much as possible of spectacle, with elaborate use of scenery and much machinery.