Giacomo Meyerbeer: L’Africaine / Vasco Da Gama – Antonello Manacorda

At a late stage in its composition Meyerbeer changed the name of his opera L’Africaine to Vasco da Gama and completed it the day before he died in 1864. Changes were then made by the Belgian musicologist and composer Francois-Joseph Fétis who prepared a performing version from the extensive score material, retaining the title L’Africaine, before the opera’s premiere in April 1865. The plot concerns the famed Portuguese navigator and his series of love entanglements cast as a magnificent grand Opéra. This production is based on the critical edition of the full score and reflects Meyerbeer’s original intentions.