Méhul's key works of the 1790s were "Euphrosine", "Stratonice", "Mélidore et Phrosine" and "Ariodant." "Ariodant", though a failure at its premiere in 1799, has come in for particular praise from critics. Elizabeth Bartlet calls it "Mehul's best work of the decade and a highpoint of Revolutionary opera". It deals with the same tale of passion and jealousy as Handel's 1735 opera "Ariodante". As in many of his other operas, Mehul makes use of a structural device called the "reminiscence motif", a musical theme associated with a particular character or idea in the opera. This device looks forward to the leitmotifs in Richard Wagner's music dramas. In "Ariodant", the reminiscence motif is the "cri de fureur" ("cry of fury"), expressing the emotion of jealousy.