Samuel Barber was almost 48 years old when his first opera, Vanessa, was produced by the Metropolitan Opera Company on 23rd January, 1958. Received with much acclaim the opera went on to win the 1958 Pulitzer Prize for music. The libretto, written by the composer’s life-long friend Gian Carlo Menotti, tells of the love triangle between the heroine Vanessa, her niece Erika and the son of her former married lover Anatol. This tense, tragic scenario is fully reflected in Barber’s music, with incredible passion and intensity throughout.