Leonora, grand opera in 3 acts;
libretto by J.R, Fry after Edward Bulwer-Lytton's play
The Lady of Lyons
(Chestnut St. Theater, Philadelphia, 4 June 1845)
Giulio e Leonore [4-act rev. of Leonore]
(29 March 1858, Academy of Music, NY)
Notre Dame of Paris, opera after
the novel Notre Dame de Paris by Victor Hugo
(1864; Philadelphia)
[premiere cond. by Theodore Thomas]
About William Henry Fry
One of the most prominent musical figures of his generation, Fry might be considered the father of American opera; his Leonora, with a libretto by the composer's brother, was the first opera by an American composer to be performed in the United States; its permiere was funded in part by the composer, then was revived in New York a few years later by the Academy of Music. (an earlier work of Fry's, Aurelia the Vestal, remains unperformed to this day.) Fry is best known today as a passionate advocate for American music and music educator. Fry's own works have been criticized as derivative, and his operatic writings are said to be highly Italianate; it is impossible to read any criticism or review of Leonora without reading the name of Bellini.
