The source of this error appears to be a statement Serafin made in Opera News in 1953: "La nave was received as well as – perhaps better than – [Montemezzi's great hit] L'Amore [dei tre re].

The critics praised Montemezzi's orchestral and choral writing, but criticised the opera for being insufficiently tuneful, too Germanic in style, and based on an unsuitable source.

[4] The most positive review, which appeared in the Corriere della Sera (attributed to Renato Simoni by David Chandler), described the opera as a "sincere success" with the public, but also noted that the audience response had been "only occasionally truly enthusiastic.

[citation needed] In addition, La nave's extremely violent and aggressively imperialistic rhetoric seemed out of place after the fall of Mussolini at the end of the Second World War.

[citation needed] La nave was performed in New York City by Teatro Grattacielo in concert on October 31, 2012, the first time the opera had been heard in the United States since Montemezzi conducted it in Chicago in 1919.