About the work
A one-act opéra comique by Gaspare Spontini to a libretto by Étienne de Jouy and Armand-Michel Dieulafoy, first performed on 27 November 1804 at the Opéra-Comique (Salle Feydeau) in Paris. Dedicated to Empress Joséphine, it was Spontini's first major success in France.
Plot
The blind poet John Milton has taken refuge with his daughter Emma at the home of the Quaker Godwin during the persecutions under King Charles II. Emma's cousin Charlotte loves Milton's secretary 'Arthur', who turns out to be Sir William Davenant in disguise and is himself drawn to Emma; in the end Davenant produces a royal pardon while Milton composes lines of his 'Paradise Lost', clearing the way for his marriage to Emma.
Cultural significance
Milton established Spontini as a sought-after opera composer in Paris, paving the way for his breakthrough two years later with La Vestale. A planned German adaptation titled Das verlorene Paradies, by contrast, was never staged.