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
Constantinus Fidelio Coene Constantinus Fidelio Coene Constantinus Fidelio Coene, a painter of history, genre, and landscape, was born in 1780 at Vilvoorden. He first studied under Hendrik van Assche, and in 1809 removed to Amsterdam and became the pupil of Barbiers. He then went to Brussels, and in 1820 was made Professor at the Academy. His picture of 'Rubens receiving from Charles I. the sword with which he had been knighted ' gained for him the grand prize at Ghent, and is now in the Museum of that city. His 'Soldier returning from the Battle of Waterloo' also gained him much praise. He