The Marble Bride

With "Zampa," French composer Ferdinand Hérold landed his greatest operatic success; after its premiere in Paris in 1831, the work also became popular in Germany and Italy. Hérold sets off a musical firework display in the overture, which continues with contrasting solo numbers and large ensembles. The plot's borrowing from Mozart's "Don Giovanni" guarantees mischievous delight: a stone statue drags the pirate and ruthless seducer Zampa into the ...