On This Day

Giacomo Meyerbeer's opera "L'Africaine" premieres in Paris

L'Africaine (The African Woman) is an 1837 five-act French grand opéra by Giacomo Meyerbeer, with a libretto by Eugène Scribe.

L'Africaine (The African Woman) is an 1837 five-act French grand opéra by Giacomo Meyerbeer, with a libretto by Eugène Scribe. By 1852, the plot had been revised to depict fictional events in the life of Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama, adopting his Gallicized name as its working title, Vasco de Gama. The full score was copied the day before Meyerbeer died in 1864.

François-Joseph Fétis's published edition, L'Africaine, premiered in 1865 at the Paris Opéra and was long performed. Since 2013, some productions and recordings have applied revisions, including the title Vasco de Gama, based on Meyerbeer's manuscript, from which Casa Ricordi published a critical edition in 2018.

Historical Significance

L'Africaine (The African Woman) is an 1837 five-act French grand opéra by Giacomo Meyerbeer, with a libretto by Eugène Scribe.

Events Before

  1. Alfred Stieglitz is born

    Alfred Stieglitz, American photographer, known for american photographer, was born on 1864-01-01.

  2. Qi Baishi is born

    Qi Baishi, Chinese painter, known for chinese painter, was born on 1864-01-01. Qi Baishi (1 January 1864 – 16 September 1957) was a Chinese painter, noted for the whimsical, often playful style of…

  3. White chapel murder victim and possible Jack the Ripper victim Mary Ann Nichols (18) weds printer's machinist William Ni

    White chapel murder victim and possible Jack the Ripper victim Mary Ann Nichols (18) weds printer's machinist William Nichols

  4. Brigadier General George Armstrong Custer marries Elizabeth Clift Bacon

    Brigadier General George Armstrong Custer marries Elizabeth Clift Bacon

  5. Battle of Gate Pā (Pukehinahina): 1,700 British troops suffer their worst defeat of the New Zealand Wars at the hands of

    Battle of Gate Pā (Pukehinahina): 1,700 British troops suffer their worst defeat of the New Zealand Wars at the hands of 230 entrenched Māori warriors in Tauranga [1]

Events After

  1. US House of Representatives passes the 14th Amendment (Civil Rights)

    The Civil Rights Act of 1866 (14 Stat. 27, enacted April 9, 1866, reenacted 1870) was the first United States federal law to define citizenship and affirm that all citizens are equally protected by...

  2. First transatlantic telegraph cable comes ashore at Heart's Content, Newfoundland, after being laid out 1,686 miles by I

    First transatlantic telegraph cable comes ashore at Heart's Content, Newfoundland, after being laid out 1,686 miles by Isambard Kingdom Brunel's Great Eastern steamship

  3. Tsarevich Alexander of Russia (later Alexander III) marries Princess Dagmar of Denmark at the Grand Church of the Winter

    Tsarevich Alexander of Russia (later Alexander III) marries Princess Dagmar of Denmark at the Grand Church of the Winter Palace, St. Petersburg

  4. Fisk University opens in Nashville, Tennessee

    Fisk University is a private historically black liberal arts college in Nashville, Tennessee, United States.

  5. Steamship London sinks in storm off Land's End, England and kills 220

    Steamship London sinks in storm off Land's End, England and kills 220

More from the 1860s

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on April 28, 1865?
L'Africaine (The African Woman) is an 1837 five-act French grand opéra by Giacomo Meyerbeer, with a libretto by Eugène Scribe. By 1852, the plot had been revised to depict fictional events in the life of Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama, adopting his Gallicized name as its working title, Vasco de Gama. The full score was copied the day before Meyerbeer died in 1864.
Why is Giacomo Meyerbeer's opera "L'Africaine" premieres in Paris significant?
L'Africaine (The African Woman) is an 1837 five-act French grand opéra by Giacomo Meyerbeer, with a libretto by Eugène Scribe.

Explore More