A Baroque Opera Written By a Female Composer Feels Ripped From the Headlines

The New York Times • June 16, 2026 • entertainment

Key Points:

The Opéra Bastille in Paris recently staged the fully staged premiere of "Ercole Amante," an almost unknown 1707 opera by Antonia Bembo, more than 300 years after its creation.
The opera, originally written for Louis XIV, features a contemporary-style opening scene with a large-bellied man served hamburgers by footmen resembling Karl Lagerfeld.
The plot centers on the aging demigod Hercules, who desires his son’s fiancée, Iole, and, with the help of Venus, plans to marry her, leading to interventions by the goddess Juno and a series of baroque twists.
The premiere was delayed by two days due to a strike by Opera personnel, causing the cancellation of the originally scheduled opening night.