Cora (opera)

It was the first opera Méhul wrote but the second to be performed, receiving its premiere at the Académie Royale de Musique (the Paris Opéra) on 15 February 1791.

From the 58 candidates the judges chose three winners: Chabanon's Le toison d'or, Guillard's Œdipe à Colone and Valadier's Alonzo et Cora.

Chabanon's libretto was never set;[3] Guillard's provided Antonio Sacchini with the text for his most famous opera (premiered in 1786); and Valadier's was handed to Méhul.

[4] Since arriving in Paris in the late 1770s Méhul had published two sets of keyboard sonatas and written or arranged vocal works for the Concert Spirituel, but this was his first opportunity to compose an opera.

[6] Frustrated at his lack of progress at the Académie Royale, Méhul turned to its rival the Opéra Comique, which staged his debut Euphrosine on 4 September 1790.