In 1911 a Gala in honour of French aviation was organized in Paris that featured a performance of Icare, an épopée lyrique [lyrical epic] composed by Henry Deutsch de la Meurthe. An oil magnate, important patron of both music and aeronautics as well as a composer, Deutsch de la Meurthe was a remarkable figure who built bridges between the diverse worlds of technological industry, sport, and French musical life. This article proposes an examination of his opera, Icare, by situating it within the historical and musical contexts of the development of French aviation and the composer’s musical output. The resulting portrait also allows for a re-evaluation of claims made by artists associated with the aesthetics of futurism that L’aviatore Dro (1915) by Francesco Balilla Pratella had been the first opera based on an aeronautic subject.