Valentine and Orson: A Romantic Melo-Drame

Based on the medieval romance of Valentine and Orson, this work is a melodrama by Thomas John Dibdin. It is the story of twin brothers abandoned in the woods shortly after their birth. Valentine was brought up as a knight at the court of Pepin, while Orson grows up in a bear's den to be a wild man living in the woods. He is later overcome and toned down by Valentine. The romance of Valentine and Orson is often linked with the Carolingian cycle. It has been adapted and re-written in most European languages in some form or another. English dramatist and songwriter Thomas Dibdin (1771-1841) wrote this adaptation in 1804, which was later performed at the Theatres Royal Covent Garden, Haymarket, and Bath.