Brutus of Alba (opera)

{{short description|1696 opera}}

{{Infobox opera

| name = Brutus of Alba

| composer = Daniel Purcell

| image = File:Sir Nathaniel Dance-Holland - The Meeting of Dido and Aeneas - Google Art Project.jpg

| image_upright =

| caption = The Meeting of Dido and Aeneas by Nathaniel Dance-Holland, 1766

| librettist = George Powell

| based_on = Book IV of Virgil's Aeneid

| premiere_date = October 1696

| premiere_location = Dorset Garden Theatre, London

}}

Brutus of Alba; Or, Augusta's Triumph is a 1696 semi-opera composed by Daniel Purcell to a libretto by the playwright George Powell. It was first performed at the Dorset Garden Theatre by Christopher Rich's Company. The names of the original cast members are unknown.Van Lennep p.408

The libretto was inspired by the Aeneid by Virgil, the style mingled elements from both Nahum Tate's 1678 play Brutus of Alba and John Dryden's 1685 opera Albion and Albanius concerning the mythical origins of the Ancient Britons. In the wake of the Glorious Revolution and the growing stability of William III's reign, it celebrated the triumph of the Revolution settlement.Miner & Guffey p.330