Benvenuto Cellini

• Benvenuto Cellini is an “opera semi-seria” written between 1836-38 and based on the colorful memoirs of Florentine Renaissance sculptor and goldsmith Benvenuto Cellini (1500-1571). The opera’s plot takes place in Rome, 1532 during Carnival.
• The opera was Berlioz’s first full-length work for the stage. Unfortunately, the piece was a commercial failure, so Berlioz recycled music from the piece for several other works, including:
  • Reverie and Caprice for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 8
  • Roman Carnival Overture, Op. 9
• The opera’s overture has also endured as a piece for the concert hall.¹

Read the opera’s synopsis here via The Metropolitan Opera.

1. “Benvenuto Cellini, H 76 (Berlioz, Hector),” IMSLP, accessed October 31, 2025, https://imslp.org/wiki/Benvenuto_Cellini%2C_H_76_(Berlioz%2C_Hector).