Anacréon (Cherubini)

One critic complained that in his protagonist Cherubini had represented "un vieux debauché déguisé en héros d'opéra" ("an old debauchee disguised as an opera hero").

The complete opera was revived by the Italian radio company RAI in 1973 and on stage at La Scala in 1983 with Gianandrea Gavazzeni conducting.

Venus is happy to fulfill Anacréon's two wishes: that the rest of his life should be devoted to the cult of beauty; and that Corine should return his love.

In a treatise titled "Rudiments of Thorough Bass" by respected English composer William Shield (1815), the author includes an excerpt of the overture to convey the "taste, spirit, and brilliant effects of a composition so full of contrast, without confusion."

Praise was given for Cherubini's choice of notes for the trills, with Shield writing that the "open strings of the violins greatly assist the intonation and excite strong vibrations."