Daniel-François-Esprit Auber (1782–1871), working with the dramatist and librettist Eugène Scribe (1791–1861), was at the heart of 19th-century French opera. Auber and Scribe worked together for 41 years and through 39 operas. His specialty was grand historical drama, such as

Daniel-François-Esprit Auber (1782–1871) became a serious composer when he hit his 40s. His first grand opera, La Muette de Portici (1828) was also the start of his success. His discrete and nuanced operas, set to the librettos by the dramatic

The bandit leader Michele Pezza (1771-1806) defended his native Naples against the invading French using his native knowledge of the territory and his inadvertent army duty. Pezza, who had received the moniker of ‘Fra Diavolo’ as a child because he

During his tenure in Magdeburg (1834-6) and Riga (1837-8), Richard Wagner rehearsed and conducted the opera La muette de Portici (The Mute Girl of Portici). Composed by Daniel François Esprit Auber to a libretto by Augustin Eugène Scribe — one