For a period Enna enjoyed greater fame than any other Danish opera composer. He made his name in 1892 with the opera Heksen (The Witch), and followed it industriously with a whole string of colourful, melodious operas. Enna's models were the Italian veristi and Wagner. Several of his operas were produced on the great European stages, and his Violin Concerto was played at Carnegie Hall. August Enna was of Sicilian origin, and had a violent temper. This was one reason why the musical establishment gradually turned away from him. In his final years his music faded from the repertoire, and on the whole it has not been played since.
