Question: Which opera was composed first, Venus and Adonis or Saul og David?
Context: The history of opera in Latin America dates back to at least the early 18th century.  Opera arrived in Latin America as a consequence of European colonization.  On October 19, 1701, "La púrpura de la rosa" premiered in Lima in the Viceroyalty of Peru, the first opera known to be composed and performed in the Americas.  It is an opera in one act by Spanish composer Tomás de Torrejón y Velasco with a libretto by Pedro Calderón de la Barca, and is the only surviving opera by Torrejón y Velasco.  It tells the myth of the love of Venus and Adonis, which provoked Mars's jealousy and his desire for vengeance. Saul og David ("Saul and David") is the first of the two operas by the Danish composer Carl Nielsen.  The four-act libretto, by Einar Christiansen, tells the Biblical story of Saul's jealousy of the young David, taken from the Book of Samuel.  The first performance was at Det Kongelige Teater, Copenhagen on 28 November 1902. Dido and Aeneas (Z. 626) is an opera in a prologue and three acts, written by the English Baroque composer Henry Purcell with a libretto by Nahum Tate.  The dates of the composition and first performance of the opera are uncertain.  It was composed no later than July 1688, and had been performed at Josias Priest's girls' school in London by the end of 1689.  Some scholars argue for a date of composition as early as 1683.  The story is based on Book IV of Virgil's "Aeneid".  It recounts the love of Dido, Queen of Carthage, for the Trojan hero Aeneas, and her despair when he abandons her.  A monumental work in Baroque opera, "Dido and Aeneas" is remembered as one of Purcell's foremost theatrical works.  It was also Purcell's only true opera, as well as his only all-sung dramatic work.  One of the earliest known English operas, it owes much to John Blow's "Venus and Adonis", both in structure and in overall effect.  The influence of Cavalli's opera "Didone" is also apparent. A composition of Venus and Adonis by the Venetian Renaissance artist Titian has been painted a number of times, by Titian himself, by his studio assistants and by others.  In all there are some thirty versions that may date from the 16th century, the nudity of Venus undoubtedly accounting for this popularity.  It is unclear which of the surviving versions, if any, is the original or prime version, and a matter of debate how much involvement Titian himself had with surviving versions.  There is a precise date for only one version, that in the Prado in Madrid, which is documented in correspondence between Titian and Philip II of Spain in 1554.  However, this appears to be a later repetition of a composition first painted a considerable time earlier, possibly as early as the 1520s. Venus Over Manhattan was founded in 2012 by Adam Lindemann.  The gallery is now known as VENUS, with spaces operating in both Manhattan and Los Angeles.  The New York space is dedicated to curated exhibitions both historic and contemporary, which cast a unique and often iconoclastic view on the work of established artists or artists whose works have been somewhat overlooked.  Past exhibitions have included those of Alexander Calder, Jack Goldstein, William Copley, Raymond Pettibon, Walter Dahn, Peter Saul, and H.C. Westermann.  In New York, VENUS has collaborated with artist foundations, estates, and galleries including The Calder Foundation, White Columns, Sprüth Magers, David Zwirner, the estate of William Copley and the estate of Allan Frumkin. Venus and Adonis is an opera in three acts and a prologue by the English Baroque composer John Blow, composed in about 1683.  It was written for the court of King Charles II at either London or Windsor.  It is considered by some to be either a semi-opera or a masque, but "The New Grove" names it as the earliest known English opera. Helge Nissen (5 September 1871 in Rydhave ved Holstebro – 5 October 1926 in Copenhagen) was a Danish operatic bass-baritone, conductor, voice teacher, and film actor who was associated with the Royal Danish Theatre from 1897 until his death in 1926.  He notably created roles in the world premieres of two operas by composer Carl Nielsen: Abner in "Saul og David" (1902) and Henrik in "Maskarade" (1906).  His voice is preserved on a total of 70 recordings made with the Pathé, HMV and Deutsche Grammophon record companies from 1908–1914. Vilhelm Christoffer Herold (born March 19, 1865 in Hasle, Bornholm – died December 15, 1937 in Copenhagen) was an operatic tenor, voice teacher, and theatre director.  Herold created the role of David in Carl Nielsen's opera "Saul og David" in 1902). Vénus et Adonis is an opera ("tragédie en musique") in a prologue and 5 acts composed by Henri Desmarets to a libretto by Jean-Baptiste Rousseau.  Based on the story of Venus and Adonis in Book X of Ovid's "Metamorphoses", it was first performed by the Académie Royale de Musique at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal in Paris on 28 July 1697 with Marie Le Rochois and Louis Gaulard Dumesny in the title roles.  Desmarets staged a major revival of the work with a new prologue at the court of Leopold, Duke of Lorraine in 1707.  During the composer's lifetime, it was performed in Germany, Belgium, and France, but then fell into obscurity.  Its first staging in modern times took place at the Opéra de Nancy on 28 April 2006. Saul (HWV 53) is a dramatic oratorio in three acts written by George Frideric Handel with a libretto by Charles Jennens.  Taken from the First Book of Samuel, the story of "Saul" focuses on the first king of Israel's relationship with his eventual successor, David; one which turns from admiration to envy and hatred, ultimately leading to the downfall of the eponymous monarch.  The work, which Handel composed in 1738, includes the famous "Dead March", a funeral anthem for Saul and his son Jonathan, and some of the composer's most dramatic choral pieces.  "Saul" was first performed at the King's Theatre in London on 16 January 1739.
Answer: Venus and Adonis