The earliest surviving orchestral work by Paul Dukas, the twenty-five-year old composer was inspired by one of the tragedies of Pierre Corneille that deals with the story of Polyeucte, a third-century Roman who was a martyr to the campaign of persecution of Christians. Dukas’ piece is a fifteen-minute overture to the play. The work premiered on January 23, 1892 at the Concerts Lamoureux, though the score was not published until 1910.