The journal Pandore commented after the premiere, "for a long time, enlightened critics have thought that alongside the old tragédie lyrique it was possible to have a more realistic and natural drama which might suit the dignity of this theatre.

The opera was chosen for a performance at the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels on 25 August 1830, as part of King William I's festival in celebration of the 15th year of his reign.

[10] There are some disagreements about when in the opera the exodus actually began, but the most commonly cited moment is the second act duet "Amour sacré de la patrie".

"Amour sacre de la patrie" enthusiasm exploded irresistibly and [the singers] found it necessary to start afresh in the midst of the cheering.

They acclaimed aria and actor, they booed the fifth act in order to stop the performance, and the delirious crowd [hurled itself] out of the hall—into history.

The character of Fenella, the opera's eponymous heroine, was borrowed from Walter Scott's Peveril of the Peak, which features a deaf and dumb dwarf of the same name.

Alfonso, who has seduced and abandoned the mute Fenella, sister to the Neapolitan Masaniello, is tormented by doubts and remorse, fearing she has committed suicide.

The Naples marketplace The people's revolt go to and fro, selling and buying, all the while concealing their revolutionary purpose under a show of merriment and carelessness.

When Fenella retires to rest, Pietro enters with comrades and tries to excite Masaniello to further violence, but he only wants liberty and shrinks from murder and cruelties.

Before the Viceroy's palace In a gathering of fishermen, Pietro confides to Moreno that he has administered poison to Masaniello, in order to punish him for his treason, and that the king will soon die.

Hearing this terrible news Fanella rushes to the terrace, and leaps to her death, while the fugitive noblemen take again possession of the city.

[19] La muette de Portici played a major role in establishing the genre of grand opera.

Many of its elements – the five-act structure, the obligatory ballet sequence, the use of spectacular stage effects, the focus on romantic passions against a background of historical troubles – would become the standard features of the form for the rest of the 19th century.

But their fame would be eclipsed by the grand operas for which Scribe provided the libretti: Meyerbeer's Robert le diable (1831) and Les Huguenots (1836) and Halévy's La Juive (1835).

Nevertheless, Auber's pioneering work caught the attention of the young Richard Wagner, who was eager to create a new form of music drama.