Gounod wrote his first opera, "Sapho", in 1851, with the help of Pauline Viardot, but had no great theatrical success until "Faust" (1859), based on the by Goethe.
Gounod wrote his first opera, "Sapho", in 1851, with the help of Pauline Viardot, but it was a commercial failure. He had no great theatrical success until "Faust" (1859), based on the by Goethe.