L’Eden

L’Eden was billed as a mystery in two parts, but this composition might be described more exactly as a cantata rather than as an operatic or choreographic work. Félicien David created its score, and Joseph Méry was the author of its poem. It was presented for the first time in Paris at the Théâtre de la Nation, and it had its premiere at the Opéra on 25 August 1848. A preface in the piece is entitled Avant l’homme and offers 11 sestets describing the emergence of the first vegetable matter from…