About the work
"Feramors" is a lyric opera in three acts by Anton Rubinstein, to a German libretto by Julius Rodenberg based on an episode from Thomas Moore's 1817 narrative poem "Lalla Rookh." It premiered at the Royal Saxon Court Theatre in Dresden on 24 February 1863; the vocal score was published by Bartolf Senff in Leipzig.
Plot
The Mughal princess Lalla Rookh travels from Delhi to her arranged marriage to the King of Bukhara and, along the way, is entertained and won over by the songs of a veiled singer named Feramors. Only at journey's end is it revealed that Feramors is in fact the king himself.
Cultural significance
After Dresden, "Feramors" was quickly staged elsewhere, including Vienna (1872), Milan (1874), Berlin (1879) and Danzig (1880). Better known today than the opera itself are its orchestral numbers – the two Bayadère dances, the torch dance of the brides of Kashmir, and the wedding procession – which have remained in the concert repertoire as independent pieces.