Daniel François Esprit Auber

Fra Diavolo

The French composer Daniel François Esprit Auber (1782-1871) witnessed many important developments in the history of music ? from Luigi Cherubini to Richard Wagner. His extensive output consisted mainly of operas, but unfortunately today only two of these are still well known, including the comic opera Fra Diavolo. The story concerns Fra Diavolo, a famous Italian bandit and soldier from the late 18th and early 19th centuries, and is one of crime, lust and treachery. The overture has a classical structure and is filled with striking themes and motifs and has a particularly unusual introduction (for the time) with the snare drum taking the leading role!