Massenet's Roma Returns to Monaco 114 Years After World Premiere
By Zak Jackson, MonacoViews Editorial
The opera Roma, which had its world premiere in Monaco in 1912, returns to the Principality on 26 September before travelling to Paris two days later.
Jules Massenet's Roma comes back to Monaco on 26 September 2026, more than a century after its world premiere here in 1912. The Paris performance follows on 28 September, making this a rare double staging of a work that has largely disappeared from the repertoire since Massenet's death.
Massenet was a regular presence in the Principality during his lifetime, and Monaco played a significant role in his later career, hosting several premieres of his work. Roma was among the last of these, and its return gives audiences here a chance to hear a piece that is genuinely rooted in the Principality's cultural history rather than merely passing through it.