About the work
Opera in five acts by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov after Lev Mei's 1854 tragedy Servilia, itself drawn from Tacitus's Annals. The composer wrote his own libretto; the premiere took place on 14 October 1902 (1 October O.S.) at the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg, conducted by Felix Blumenfeld.
Plot
In the Rome of Emperor Nero, the senator Soranus is falsely accused of treason against the favourite Tigellinus; his daughter Servilia loves Valerius, the adopted son of the withdrawing suitor Thrasea, who is believed lost. Caught between political intrigue and personal happiness, Servilia turns to Christianity and renounces the world; after her father's banishment and Valerius's unexpected return, the shock of reunion kills her.
Cultural significance
The premiere had only modest success, running for seven performances, and contemporary critics found the music 'pale'. Musicologist Sigrid Neef, by contrast, credited the work with colour and contrast on the evidence of surviving recordings; because of its Christian conversion plot, the opera went largely unperformed under Soviet rule.