Roma (opera)

Opera by Jules Massenet

Roma

Opera by Jules Massenet

Poster by Georges Rochegrosse for the Paris première

Librettist| Henri Cain
Language| French
Based on| Rome vaincue
by Dominique-Alexandre_Parodi
Premiere|

17 February 1912 (1912-02-17)

Opéra de Monte Carlo

Roma is an opera in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Cain based on the play Rome vaincue by Dominique-Alexandre Parodi. It was first performed at the Opéra de Monte Carlo on 17 February 1912.

Roma was the last opera by Massenet to premiere in his lifetime. Three operas were subsequently premiered posthumously: Panurge (1913), Cléopâtre (1914) and Amadis (1922). The piece has not survived into the modern operatic repertoire, but has been revived recently and recorded by the Teatro la Fenice in Venice.

## Roles

[edit]

Role  | Voice type  | Premiere Cast,[1] 17 February 1912
(Conductor: Léon Jehin)

|
|

Lentulus  | tenor | Lucien Muratore
Fabius Maximus  | baritone | Jean-François Delmas
Fausta  | soprano | Maria Nikolaevna Kuznetsova
Lucius Cornélius  | bass | Pierre Clauzure
Posthumia  | contralto | Lucy Arbell
Junia  | soprano  | Julia Guiraudon
Vestapor  | baritone  | Jean Noté
The Grand Vestal  | soprano  | Éliane Peltier
Galla  | soprano  | Doussot
Caïus  | baritone  | Kozline/Skano
An old man  | baritone  | Gasparini
Chorus: Senators, Priests, Vestal virgins, people.

## Synopsis

[edit]

The story takes place in ancient Rome, following the Carthaginian triumph at the Battle of Cannae. Fausta, daughter of Fabius, has allowed the sacred fires to burn out at the Temple of Vesta, profaning the sanctuary. After failed attempts to escape her fate, to be buried alive wrapped in a black veil, Fausta returns to Rome to accept her punishment. As she is being led to execution, her blind grandmother, Posthumia, hands her Fabius' dagger. Fausta's hands are bound, however, and Posthumia must kill her granddaughter to spare her from the burial and expiate the sacrilege.

## References

[edit]

Notes

1. ^ Casaglia, Gherardo (2005). "Roma, 17 February 1912". L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia (in Italian).

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Jules Massenet

* List of compositions
* List of operas

Operas|

* La grand'tante (1867)
* Don César de Bazan (1872)
* Le roi de Lahore (1877)
* Hérodiade (1881)
* Manon (1884)
* Le Cid (1885)
* Esclarmonde (1889)
* Le Mage (1891)
* Werther (1892)
* Thaïs (1894)
* Le portrait de Manon (1894)
* La Navarraise (1894)
* Sapho (1897)
* Cendrillon (1899)
* Grisélidis (1901)
* Le jongleur de Notre-Dame (1902)
* Chérubin (1905)
* Ariane (1906)
* Thérèse (1907)
* Bacchus (1909)
* Don Quichotte (1910)
* Roma (1912)
* Panurge (1913)
* Cléopâtre (1914)
* Amadis (1922)

Oratorios|

* Marie-Magdeleine (1873)
* Ève (1875)
* La Vierge (1880)
* La Terre Promise (1900)

Ballets|

* Cigale (1904)
* L'histoire de Manon (arr. Leighton Lucas, 1974)

Concerto|

* Piano Concerto (1902)

Incidental music|

* Les Érinnyes

Other works|

* Méditation

Related articles|

* Cercle Funambulesque
* Massenet Festival
* O Superman

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