Cherubini's fortunes in Paris were closely tied to the monarchy and aristocratic courts of France, so when the revolution broke out in 1789, his fortunes took a decided turn for the worse. He lived in seclusion, studying the sciences, botany, music, and drawing. He narrowly escaped execution himself, and was forced to serve in the new regime. Lodoiska was his first operatic work since the outbreak of the revolution. It premiered at the Feydeau Theatre on July 18, 1791. Although produced just six weeks after a Kreutzer setting of the same story had premiered at the Favart Theatre of Paris, Cherubini's opera was tremendously successful. In its first year alone it was performed two hundred times, and was revived for over two hundred more performances in subsequent years. A translation was made of the libretto into German, and Weber produced it with great success in that country.

Lodoiska is a rescue opera, whose plot is similar to that of Fidelio and Faniska. There are plenty of opportunities for effective use of the chorus, and for the construction of dramatic tableaux. There are choruses of Tartars, soldiers, and a huge battle scene in which both the hero and heroine must leap to their safety from a castle in ruins. One of the finest scenes is the close of the second act, in which Floreski and Varbel must contrive to drug Count Dourlinksi's guards without anyone discovering them. It is a masterpiece of dramatic musical writing in which none of the intricacies of the intrigue are lost. The story of Lodoiska also carries the theme of retributive justice. The villain Dourlinski doesn't change into a better human being in order to produce a happy ending. Rather, he is given the exact punishment that he hoped to inflict on his prisoner Lodoiska; that of permanent isolation. The theme of retributive justice must have been very satisfying to French audiences of the time. The overture is a fine piece of instrumental writing, in which Cherubini explores his new harmonic language and the new resources discovered in the study of the works of Haydn.

Lodoiska marks a turning point in the history of French opera, for in this work Cherubini abandons the Italian school of Paisiello and Cimarosa completely. Hitherto, his popularity had been based on his ability to compose graceful melodies and compose in the elegant forms of the Italians. In Lodoiska he makes a dramatic breakthrough. His harmonies are richer and his instrumental resources exploited to the fullest extent. It is a more passionate, more vigorous, and more brilliant opera than his earlier works. Plasticity and dramatic content make this opera a forerunner of French operas to come. French society had been destabilized and all but destroyed by the events of the revolution. The world community likewise was unsettled, by new ideas and new political trends. No longer could the pleasing melodies of the Italians satisfy the theatrical needs of the audiences. The new operatic art must reflect the new changes that had been wrought in society. Both Lodoiska and Les Deux Journées gave the French public a new artistic language which reflected the changes that had taken place in their society. A knowledgeable music, it combined drama, poetry, and a richer palette of sonorities for a more powerful drama.

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