eyerbeer by Scribe in
1838; but such were the alterations demanded by the composer, that at
last Scribe withdrew it altogether, although the music was already
set. In 1852 he furnished a revised libretto, and the music was
revised to suit it. The work was not finished until 1860, and owing to
the difficulty of filling the cast satisfactorily, was not brought to
rehearsal until the fall of 1863. While still correcting and improving
it, Meyerbeer died, and it was not produced until two years later.
Shortly after the Paris performance it was brought out in London, with
Mlle. Lucca in the part of Selika. Mme. Zucchi was one of the earliest
representatives of the slave in this country.

The scene of the opera is laid in Portugal and Africa, and the first
act opens in the council chamber of the king of the former country.
Inez, his daughter, is mourning the long absence of her betrothed,
Vasco di Gama the explorer. Her father, wishing to marry her to Don
Pedro, the President of the Council, tries to persuade her that Vasco
has perished by shipwreck; but the refutation of the story comes in
the sudden appearance of Vasco himself, who is summoned before the
Council and narrates to them his discovery of a strange land,
producing two of the natives, Selika and Nelusko, as confirmations of
his announcement. Don Pedro incites the inquisitors to deny the truth
of the story, at which Vasco breaks out in such a furious rage against
them that he is arrested and thrown into a dungeon. The second act
opens in the prison, where Selika is watching the slumbering Vasco. As
he wakens she declares her love for him, and at the same time saves
him from the dagger of the jealous Nelusko. She also indicates to him
the course he should have taken to discover the island of which he is
in quest. To save her lover, Inez consents to wed Don Pedro; and the
latter, to cheat Vasco of his fame, takes command of the expedition
under the pilotage of Nelusko, and sets sail for the new land. The
Indian, thirsting for vengeance, directs the vessel out of her course
towards a reef; but Vasco, who has followed in another vessel, arrives
in time to warn Don Pedro of his danger. He disregards the warning,
distrusts his motives, and orders him to be shot; but before the
sentence can be carried out, the vessel strikes and is boarded by the
savages, who slaughter the commander and most of his men. The fourth
act opens on the island which Selika pointed out on the map