Médée

Cherubini composed Médée as a French opéra comique in 1797, meaning it originally included spoken dialogue rather than sung recitative. The work premiered at the Théâtre Feydeau in Paris and was only later translated into Italian for performance in opera houses that required through-sung format.

Maria Callas performed Médée at La Scala in 1953 under Leonard Bernstein and recorded a celebrated studio version in 1957. Her performances transformed the work from a rarely performed historical curiosity into a vehicle for dramatic soprano virtuosity, and most modern revivals are essentially a response to her legacy.

The standard Italian version of Médée uses recitatives composed by the German composer Franz Lachner in 1855 to replace the original spoken dialogue. These recitatives are what Callas and most subsequent performers have used, as most major opera houses prefer through-sung operas.

In the climactic scene, Médée murders her own children to exact vengeance on her unfaithful husband Jason, then appears above the stage in a chariot. This brutal ending, faithful to Euripides, makes Médée one of the most dramatically intense roles in the classical and early Romantic repertoire.