''Messaline'' (''Messalina'') is an

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

tic

tragédie lyrique This is a glossary list of opera genres, giving alternative names. "Opera" is an Italian word (short for "opera in musica"); it was not at first ''commonly'' used in Italy (or in other countries) to refer to the genre of particular works. Most c ...

in four acts by

Isidore de Lara Isidore de Lara, born Isidore Cohen (9 August 18582 September 1935), was an English composer and singer. After studying in Italy and France, he returned to England, where he taught for several years at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama an ...

. The librettists were

Paul Armand Silvestre Paul Armand Silvestre (18 April 1837 – 19 February 1901) was a 19th-century French poet and ''conteur'' born in Paris. He studied at the École polytechnique with the intention of entering the army, but in 1870 he entered the department ...

and Eugène Morand. The opera premiered at the

Opéra de Monte-Carlo The Opéra de Monte-Carlo is an opera house which is part of the Monte Carlo Casino located in the Principality of Monaco. With the lack of cultural diversions available in Monaco in the 1870s, Prince Charles III, along with the Société des ba ...

on 21 March 1899 where it was received enthusiastically. ''Messaline'' was de Lara's most successful opera and subsequent productions were performed throughout Europe, including the first opera by an Englishman to be mounted at

La Scala La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performan ...

in 1901. Other notable performances include

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

in 1899,

Paris Opéra The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be k ...

in 1903,

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

in 1904, and

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

in 1907. The opera made its United States premiere at the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is operat ...

on 22 January 1902. The opera remained a regular part of the repertory, particularly in France, until 1943.Nigel Burton: "Messaline", ''Grove Music Online'' ed. L. Macy (Accessed 25 January 2009)
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Roles

Synopsis

Setting: Rome, AD 45 The Empress Messaline loves Harès, a poet and then Hélion, his brother (who is a gladiator) with fatal results.

Sources

{{authority control Operas 1899 operas French-language operas Operas by Isidore de Lara Opera world premieres at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo Cultural depictions of Messalina