Diana von Solange

Diana von Solange
Opera by Ernst II of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha
The Composer
Language	German
Premiere	1858 (1858)

Diana von Solange is an opera by the German prince Ernst II of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, an amateur composer. It was premiered in 1858. In 1859, Franz Liszt wrote an orchestral Festmarsch nach Motiven von E. H. z. S-C-G, S.116, based on themes from Diana von Solange (E. H. z. S-C-G was short for Ernst Herzog zu Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha).

It is now best remembered for its brief appearance at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City in 1891. The opera was one of three novelties introduced for the 1890–91 season by the Metropolitan's general manager, Edmund C. Stanton; the others were Asrael by Alberto Franchetti, which opened the season on November 26, and Antonio Smareglia's Il vassallo di Szigeth. Both were poorly received. Diana von Solange, the last of the three, was first shown on January 9, 1891; the performance marked its American premiere. Pauline Schöller-Haag sang the title role to the Armand of Andreas Dippel. Marie Jahn, Conrad Behrens, Juan Luria, Edmund Müller, and Bruno Lurgenstein rounded out the cast, under the direction of Anton Seidl. The opera also contained a ballet, which was singled out for praise by the New York World.

Reviews of the opera were almost all negative; one writer described the piece as "simply rubbish", while others derisively referred to it as "Diana von So-Langweilig" (so boring). Another critic predicted that the work would not last three performances in the house; in the event, it lasted two. When it was discovered that a third outing was intended on January 12, a petition, bearing three hundred signatures and demanding that the opera be removed from the repertory, was delivered to the management, who hastily replaced it with Fidelio. Diana von Solange marked the final blow against Stanton; two days after the cancelled third performance, on January 14, it was announced that he was to be replaced by Henry Eugene Abbey for the following season.

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