 He became known as a concert singer and a writer of vocal songs, of which his "The Garden of Sleep" (1877) and "After Silent Years" (1887) were particularly popular.In the early 1880s, de Lara began to switch his attention to composing music for the theatre.His first opera, "The Royal Word", premiered at the Gaiety Theatre, London on 17 April 1883 with de Lara portraying the role of Charles II of England.