Faniska

In June 1805, Cherubini took up an invitation to travel to Vienna, where his works were highly appreciated.

He met Haydn, a composer he particularly admired, and gave him a medal from the Conservatoire de Paris.

Cherubini also accepted a commission to write an opera for the Viennese stage and Faniska was the result.

The plot has much in common with Cherubini's earlier rescue opera Lodoïska (1791), including its Polish setting.

It was enthusiastically received by Beethoven and Haydn but failed to win a lasting place in the repertoire.