Black People in European Sculpture

Nelusko

Nelusko is one of the principal characters in German composer Giacomo Meyerbeer (d. 1864) and librettist Eugène Scribe's (d. 1863) popular opera, L'Africaine. First performed in Paris on 28 April 1865, with celebrated baritone Jean-Baptiste Faure in the role of Nelusko and Belgian soprano Marie-Constance Sasse as Selika, 'L'Africaine' is a classic example of French grand opéra, characterised by spectacular scenes and elaborate finales. Like so many other musical, literary and artistic efforts in 19th-century France, its story and characters evoke visions of an 'exotic' non-Western world. Scribe's libretto relates how Nelusko and Selika, king and queen in their native East Indian land, are captured by the Portuguese explorer, Vasco de Gama, and taken back to Lisbon as proof of a new territory as yet undiscovered by Europeans. In a tale full of intrigue, Selika, herself jealously loved by Nelusko, ends up marrying Vasco in a bid to save his life. However, at the marriage ceremony, Vasco is reunited with his former lover, Inez, who had believed him dead. In the opera's tragic climax, Selika, so distraught at the sight of Vasco and Inez together, kills herself by inhaling the scent of the deadly blossom of the Manchineel tree, and is joined in death by Nelusko.