| The Last Savage Le dernier sauvage | |
|---|---|
| Opera by Gian Carlo Menotti | |
 The composer in 1944 | |
| Librettist | Menotti, translated by Jean-Pierre Marty |
| Language | French |
| Premiere | 21 October 1963 Opéra-Comique, Paris |
The Last Savage is an opera in three acts by composer Gian Carlo Menotti. Menotti wrote his own libretto, originally in the Italian language (L'ultimo selvaggio). The opera was translated into French (Le dernier sauvage) by Jean-Pierre Marty for the work's first (private) performance at the Opéra-Comique in Paris on 21 October 1963, followed the next day by the public premiere.[1] George Mead translated the work into English for the opera's American premiere at the Metropolitan Opera the following year.
The opera was originally intended for the larger Paris Opéra, and the title was changed from The Last Superman to The Wild Man then to its final form. Menotti returned to his own Italian language in composing the libretto, but the premiere was in French; Menotti was also the producer of the premiere production. Opera magazine congratulated him and the conductor for "a beautifully thought-out and executed performance" which was "enormously applauded with one solitary boo-er".[1]