''Salammbô'' was a projected

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

conceived by Russian composer

Sergei Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and Conducting, conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a compos ...

around 1906. It was to be based on ''

Salammbô ''Salammbô'' is an 1862 historical novel by Gustave Flaubert. It is set in Carthage immediately before and during the Mercenary Revolt (241–237 BCE). Flaubert's principal source was Book I of the '' Histories'', written by the Greek hist ...

'', a

historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the setting of particular real historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to oth ...

Gustave Flaubert Gustave Flaubert ( , ; ; 12 December 1821 – 8 May 1880) was a French novelist. He has been considered the leading exponent of literary realism in his country and abroad. According to the literary theorist Kornelije Kvas, "in Flaubert, realis ...

. The idea was long thought about, but Rachmaninoff was unable to find a suitable

librettist A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major ...

and aborted the idea when his wife and daughter fell ill.

Background

After his two recent operas, ''

The Miserly Knight ''The Miserly Knight'', Op. 24, also ''The Covetous Knight'' (, ''Skupój rýtsar’''), is a Russian opera in one act with music by Sergei Rachmaninoff, with the libretto based on Alexander Pushkin's drama of the same name. It contains roles for f ...

'' (Op. 24, 1904) and ''

Francesca da Rimini Francesca da Rimini or Francesca da Polenta (died between 1283 and 1286) was an Italian noblewoman of Ravenna, who was murdered by her husband, Giovanni Malatesta, upon his discovery of her affair with his brother, Paolo Malatesta. She was a ...

'' (Op. 25, 1905), achieved little success, Rachmaninoff eagerly considered another, larger project. Previously, he had made no written mention of this, but it is clear that he put great thought into the project, evidenced by a letter that he wrote to his friend Nikita Morozoff on March 19, 1906, which gives a scene-by-scene outline. The letter also requests that his friend contact Mikhail Svobodin, a journalist known for poetry, and ask him to write the

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...

. Svobodin did not respond, so Morozoff attempted to write some, but Rachmaninoff rejected his work in favor of another friend, Mikhail Slonoff. Slonoff worked for a few weeks, but Rachmaninoff was never satisfied, and on May 24 wrote to Slonoff reporting that he was unable to compose anything. A few days after the letter, Rachmaninoff's wife and daughter became sick and the project was terminated. Rachmaninoff was still eager to produce an opera, and in 1908 worked on another called ''

Monna Vanna ''Monna Vanna'' () is an unfinished opera by Sergei Rachmaninoff after a play by Maurice Maeterlinck. Rachmaninoff had completed Act I in short vocal score, with piano accompaniment, and then he went to ask for permission to set the text in a ful ...

'', but it was left unfinished, and he did not complete another opera during his life.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Salammbo (Rachmaninoff) Operas based on works by Gustave Flaubert Operas by Sergei Rachmaninoff Operas Works set in Carthage Works based on Salammbô 1906 operas