"The Saucy Arethusa" from “Fantasia on British Sea Songs” arranged by Henry Wood is a nautical song thought to have been first performed at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden in 1796 as part of a comic opera called “The Lock and Key”.
The Saucy Arethusa" from “Fantasia on British Sea Songs” arranged by Henry Wood is a nautical song thought to have been first performed at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden in 1796 as part of a comic opera called “The Lock and Key”. The Arethusa of the title is a frigate of the Royal Navy named HMSArethusa, which was captured from the French Navy in 1759. The song heraldsasuccessful engagement in 1778 in the English Channel between the “Arethusa”and a French frigate.
