In his memoir, Massenet recounts how concerned he was upon completing Le Roi de Lahore (which comprised an astounding eleven hundred pages of manuscript!) that the opera would never be staged – but a chance meeting on the street with Opéra director Olivier Halanzier in January 1877 paved the way for the work’s premiere. Although the two men had never spoken before, Halanzier knew of Massenet and asked about his recent activity. When Massenet revealed he had recently finished a new opera, Halanzier invited him to play through it the next night at his apartment. The opera's first performance followed in April 1877. Massenet’s gratitude for Halanzier’s interest is reflected in his noting the director in this inscription.