Droit du seigneur
In Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro", which premiered in 1786 with a libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, the comic plot revolves around the successful efforts of the young bride and groom, Figaro and Susanna, to block the efforts of the unfaithful Count Almaviva to seduce Susanna. To achieve his aim, the frustrated Count threatens to reinstitute "droit du seigneur". It was based on a play by Pierre Beaumarchais.
Cyrano (Damrosch)
"Cyrano" premiered on February 27, 1913, with Pasquale Amato in the title role and Frances Alda (Gatti-Casazza's wife) as Roxanne in a performance conducted by Alfred Hertz. The sets were designed by Antonio Rovescalli while the costumes were designed by the famed Paris company, Maison Muelle. The work was warmly received by the audience at the opening night, but less so by the critics. The critic for the "Boston Evening Transcript" had praise for the libretto but found the music "lack[ing] individuality, imagination, and communicative force." Robert Aldrich in his opening night review for the "New York Times" likewise praised the libretto as a literary work and noted how well Henderson's verse was suited to the needs of the singers, but went on to say: