''Roma'' 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 libre ...

in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Cain based on the play '' Rome vaincue'' by

Dominique-Alexandre Parodi Dominique-Alexandre Parodi (Domenico Alessandro Parodi in Italian publications) (b. 15 October 1840 - d.1901), known as Alexandre (Alessandro), was a naturalised French writer, poet and dramatist of Graeco-Italian extraction. Biography He was b ...

. 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 Panurge (from el, πανοῦργος / ''panoûrgos'' meaning "knave, rogue") is one of the principal characters in ''Gargantua and Pantagruel'', a series of five novels by François Rabelais. Especially important in the third and fourth books, ...

'' (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 Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

Roles

Synopsis

The story takes place in

Ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–50 ...

, following the Carthaginian triumph at the

Battle of Cannae The Battle of Cannae () was a key engagement of the Second Punic War between the Roman Republic and Carthage, fought on 2 August 216 BC near the ancient village of Cannae in Apulia, southeast Italy. The Carthaginians and their allies, led by ...

. Fausta, daughter of

Fabius In Roman mythology, Fabius was the son of Hercules and an unnamed mother. In "The Life of Fabius Maximus" from the ''Parallel Lives'' by Plutarch, Fabius, the first of his name, was the son of Hercules by a nymph or a woman native to the count ...

, has allowed the sacred fires to burn out at the

Temple of Vesta The Temple of Vesta, or the aedes (Latin '' Aedes Vestae''; Italian: ''Tempio di Vesta''), is an ancient edifice in Rome, Italy. The temple is located in the Roman Forum near the Regia and the House of the Vestal Virgins. The Temple of Vesta h ...

, 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

Notes {{Jules Massenet, state=collapsed Operas Operas by Jules Massenet French-language operas 1912 operas Opera world premieres at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo Operas set in Italy Operas based on plays