Adriana Lecouvreur

Francesco Cilea isn’t one of opera’s most famed composers. While he created his fair share of works, only one lives on in the standard repertoire. That opera is, of course, “Adriana Lecouvreur,” a tragedy that has become a vehicle for some of the greatest sopranos in the history of opera.

The work premiered at the Teatro Lirico of Milan on Nov. 6, 1902, with soprano Angelica Pandolfini as the title character. Enrico Caruso appeared as her lover Maurizio while Edvige Ghibaudo portrayed the Princess de Bouillon.