Héléna (opera) Héléna (opera) Héléna is an opera in three acts by the French composer Étienne Méhul. It premiered at the Opéra-Comique, Paris on 1 March 1803. The libretto is by Jean-Nicolas Bouilly. It enjoyed 36 performances in the space of 20 months before disappearing from the theatre's repertoire. Bouilly was accused of basing the plot too closely on Cherubini's "Les deux journées". According to the musicologist Elizabeth Bartlet, "several scholars have pointed out [that] Beethoven's trumpet call in "Fidelio" was inspired by Méhul's "Héléna"". Constantin, Count of Arles, has been accused of killing his father. He flees with his wife Héléna
Opera a Chinese language form of Western style opera that is distinct from traditional Chinese opera, has had operas dating back to "The White Haired Girl" in 1945. In Latin America, opera started as a result of European colonisation. The first opera ever written in the Americas was "La púrpura de la rosa", by Tomás de Torrejón y Velasco, although "Partenope", by the Mexican Manuel de Zumaya, was the first opera written from a composer born in Latin America (music now lost). The first Brazilian opera for a libretto in Portuguese was "A Noite de São João", by Elias Álvares Lobo.