Thaïs (
Pronounced tah-eess / ta:'i:s) is an
operaOpera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score. Opera is part of the Western classical music tradition. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
in three acts by
Jules MassenetJules Massenet was a French composer best known for his operas. His compositions were very popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and he ranks as one of the greatest melodists of his era. Soon after his death, his style went out of fashion, and many of his operas fell into almost...
to a French
librettoA libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, sacred or secular oratorio and cantata, musical, and ballet. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata.Libretto ,...
by
Louis GalletLouis Gallet was an inexhaustible French writer of operatic libretti, plays, romances, memoirs, pamphlets, and innumerable articles, who is remembered above all for his adaptations of fiction—and Scripture— to provide librettos of cantatas and opera, notably by composers Georges...
based on the novel
ThaïsThaïs is a novel by Anatole France published in 1890. It is based on events in the life of Saint Thaïs of Egypt, a legendary convert to Christianity who is said to have lived in the 4th century. It was the inspiration for the opera of the same name by Jules Massenet- External links :* available at...
by
Anatole FranceAnatole France , born François-Anatole Thibault, was a French poet, journalist, and novelist. He was born in Paris, and died in Saint-Cyr-sur-Loire. He was a successful novelist, with several best-sellers. Ironic and skeptical, he was considered in his day the ideal French man of letters...
. It was first performed at the
Opéra GarnierThe Palais Garnier, also known as the Opéra de Paris or Opéra Garnier, but more commonly as the Paris Opéra, is a 2,200-seat opera house on the Place de l'Opéra in Paris, France...
in
ParisParis is the capital of France and the country's most populous city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
on 16 March 1894, starring the American soprano
Sybil SandersonSybil Sanderson , born in Sacramento, California, in the United States, was a famous operatic soprano during the Parisian Belle Époque....
, for whom Massenet had written the title role. In 1907, the role served as
Mary Garden' Mary Garden , was a Scottish operatic soprano with a substantial career in France and America in the first third of the 20th century...
's American debut in New York in the U.S. premiere performance.
Thaïs occurs in Egypt under Greek occupation, where a Cenobite monk, Athanaël, attempts to convert Thaïs, an Alexandrian courtesan, and devotée of Venus, to Christianity, but discovers, too late, that his obsession with her is rooted in lust; while the courtesan's true purity of heart is revealed, so is the religious man's baser nature.
Thaïs (
Pronounced tah-eess / ta:'i:s) is an
operaOpera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score. Opera is part of the Western classical music tradition. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
in three acts by
Jules MassenetJules Massenet was a French composer best known for his operas. His compositions were very popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and he ranks as one of the greatest melodists of his era. Soon after his death, his style went out of fashion, and many of his operas fell into almost...
to a French
librettoA libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, sacred or secular oratorio and cantata, musical, and ballet. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata.Libretto ,...
by
Louis GalletLouis Gallet was an inexhaustible French writer of operatic libretti, plays, romances, memoirs, pamphlets, and innumerable articles, who is remembered above all for his adaptations of fiction—and Scripture— to provide librettos of cantatas and opera, notably by composers Georges...
based on the novel
ThaïsThaïs is a novel by Anatole France published in 1890. It is based on events in the life of Saint Thaïs of Egypt, a legendary convert to Christianity who is said to have lived in the 4th century. It was the inspiration for the opera of the same name by Jules Massenet- External links :* available at...
by
Anatole FranceAnatole France , born François-Anatole Thibault, was a French poet, journalist, and novelist. He was born in Paris, and died in Saint-Cyr-sur-Loire. He was a successful novelist, with several best-sellers. Ironic and skeptical, he was considered in his day the ideal French man of letters...
. It was first performed at the
Opéra GarnierThe Palais Garnier, also known as the Opéra de Paris or Opéra Garnier, but more commonly as the Paris Opéra, is a 2,200-seat opera house on the Place de l'Opéra in Paris, France...
in
ParisParis is the capital of France and the country's most populous city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
on 16 March 1894, starring the American soprano
Sybil SandersonSybil Sanderson , born in Sacramento, California, in the United States, was a famous operatic soprano during the Parisian Belle Époque....
, for whom Massenet had written the title role. In 1907, the role served as
Mary Garden' Mary Garden , was a Scottish operatic soprano with a substantial career in France and America in the first third of the 20th century...
's American debut in New York in the U.S. premiere performance.
Thaïs occurs in Egypt under Greek occupation, where a Cenobite monk, Athanaël, attempts to convert Thaïs, an Alexandrian courtesan, and devotée of Venus, to Christianity, but discovers, too late, that his obsession with her is rooted in lust; while the courtesan's true purity of heart is revealed, so is the religious man's baser nature. The work is about religious eroticism, and has had many controversial productions. Its famous
Méditation for violin solo with harp and strings accompaniment, the
entr'acteEntr'acte is French for "between the acts" . It can mean a pause between two parts of a stage production, synonymous to an intermission, but it more often indicates a piece of music performed between acts of a theatrical production...
played between the scenes of Act II, is an oft-performed concert music piece; it has been arranged for many different instruments. Excerpts from it were used in the animated version of the children's book
A Cricket in Times SquareA Cricket in Times Square is a four-piece rock band formed in College Park, Maryland in 2000 at the University of Maryland's radio station WMUC-FM....
.
After
ManonManon is an opéra comique in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Philippe Gille, based on the 1731 novel L’histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut by the Abbé Prévost...
and
WertherWerther is an opera in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Édouard Blau, Paul Milliet and Georges Hartmann based on the German epistolary novel The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe....
,
Thaïs is one of Massenet's most performed operas, but it is not part of the standard operatic repertoire. The role of Thaïs, similar to another Massenet heroine also written for
Sybil SandersonSybil Sanderson , born in Sacramento, California, in the United States, was a famous operatic soprano during the Parisian Belle Époque....
,
EsclarmondeEsclarmonde is an opéra in four acts and eight tableaux, with prologue and epilogue by Jules Massenet, to a French libretto by Alfred-Édouard Blau and Louis Ferdinand de Gramont....
, is notoriously difficult to sing and is reserved for only the most gifted of performers. Modern interpreters have included
Carol NeblettCarol Neblett is an American operatic soprano. She studied at the University of California, Los Angeles, and in 1969, made her stage debut with the New York City Opera, playing the part of Musetta in Puccini's La bohème...
,
Anna MoffoAnna Moffo was an Italian-American opera singer and one of the leading lyric-coloratura sopranos of her generation...
,
Beverly SillsBeverly Sills was a Jewish American operatic soprano who enjoyed a successful career during the 1950s through the 1970s....
,
Leontyne PriceMary Violet Leontyne Price is an American operatic soprano. She was best known for the title role of Verdi's Aida. Born in the segregated Deep South, she rose to international fame during a period of racial change in the 1950s and 60s, and was the first African-American to become a leading prima...
and, most recently,
Renée FlemingRenée Fleming is a Grammy Award winning American soprano specializing in opera and lieder. Fleming has a full lyric soprano voice....
.
Géori BouéGéori Boué is a French soprano, particularly associated with the French repertory, especially Thais.- Life and career :...
is particularly associated with the role.
Roles
| Role |
Voice type |
Premiere Cast, 16 March 1894
(Conductor: Claude-Paul TaffanelClaude-Paul Taffanel was a French flautist, conductor and instructor regarded as the founder of the French Flute School that dominated much of flute composition and performance during the mid-20th century.- Early years :...
) |
| Thaïs, a courtesan |
soprano A soprano is a singing voice with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music...
|
Sybil Sanderson Sybil Sanderson , born in Sacramento, California, in the United States, was a famous operatic soprano during the Parisian Belle Époque....
|
| Athanaël, a Cenobite monk |
baritoneBaritone is a type of classical male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek βαρύτονος, meaning 'deep sounding', music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second G below middle C to the F above...
|
Jean-François Delmas |
| Nicias, a nobleman |
tenor The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
|
Albert Alvarez |
| Crobyle, servant of Nicias |
soprano |
Jeanne Marcy |
| Myrtale, servant of Nicias |
mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...
|
Meyrianne Heglon |
| Palémon, leader of the Cenobites |
bass |
François Delpouget |
| Albine, an abbess |
mezzo-soprano |
|
Synopsis
Act 1
Scene 1
A group of Cenobite monks go about their daily business. Athanaël, the most rigorous ascetic of them all, enters and confesses to the senior monk, Palémon, that he has lately been disturbed by visions of a
courtesanA courtesan was originally a woman courtier, which means a person who attends the court of a monarch or other powerful person. In feudal society, the court was the centre of government as well as the residence of the monarch, and social and political life were often completely mixed together...
and priestess of Venus named Thaïs, whom he had seen many years ago in his native city of
AlexandriaAlexandria , with a population of 4.1 million, is the second-largest city in Egypt, and is the country's largest seaport, serving about 80% of Egypt's imports and exports...
. Believing these visions to be a sign from God, he resolves, against Palémon's advice, to return to Alexandria, convert Thaïs to Christianity, and persuade her to enter a convent.
Scene 2
Athanaël arrives in Alexandria and visits his old friend Nicias, a wealthy voluptuary. Nicias welcomes him with open arms and reveals himself to be Thaïs' current lover. Upon hearing Athanaël's plan, he laughs and warns him that the revenge of Venus can be terrible. Nevertheless, he procures clothing for his friend in preparation for a feast that evening at which Thaïs will appear. His slaves, Crobyle and Myrtale, dress Athanaël and mock his prudery.
The feast begins. Thaïs arrives and sings a bittersweet love duet with Nicias: this is their last night together. She then asks him about Athanaël, who overhears her and tells her that he has come to teach her "contempt for the flesh and love of pain." Not tempted by this proposition, she offends his sense of propriety with a seductive song. He leaves, angrily promising to come back later. She taunts him with a parting shot: "Dare to come, you who defy Venus!"
Act 2
Scene 1
Exhausted after the feast, Thaïs expresses dissatisfaction with her empty life and muses on the fact that one day, old age will destroy her beauty. Athanaël enters at this vulnerable moment, praying to God to conceal her beauty from him. He tells her that he loves her according to the spirit rather than the flesh, and that his love will last forever, instead of for a single night. Intrigued, she asks him to teach her the ways of this love. He nearly succumbs to her physical charm, but succeeds in explaining to her that if she converts, she will gain eternal life. She nearly succumbs to his eloquence, but then reasserts her nihilistic worldview and drives him away. However, after a long meditation she changes her mind.
Scene 2
Thaïs has joined Athanaël and resolved to follow him into the desert. He orders her to burn down her house and possessions in order to destroy all traces of her wicked past. She agrees, but asks if she can keep a statuette of Eros, the god of love, explaining to Athanaël that she sinned against love rather than through it. When he hears that Nicias gave it to her, however, Athanaël demands that she destroy it. Nicias appears with a group of revelers, who see Athanaël taking Thaïs away. Furious, they begin to stone him. Although Nicias is astonished at Thaïs' decision to leave, he respects it and throws handfuls of money to distract the crowd. Thaïs and Athanaël escape.
Act 3
Scene 1
Thaïs and Athanaël travel on foot through the desert. Thaïs is exhausted, but Athanaël forces her to keep going and thus do penance for her sins. They reach a spring, where Athanaël begins to feel pity rather than disgust for her, and they share a few moments of idyllic, platonic companionship as they rest. Shortly afterwards, they reach the convent where Thaïs is to stay. Placing her in the care of Mother Superior Albine, Athanaël realizes that he has accomplished his mission--and that he will never see her again.
Scene 2
The Cenobite monks express anxiety over Athanaël's antisocial and morose behavior since his return from Alexandria. Athanaël enters and confesses to Palémon that he has begun to experience sexual longing for Thaïs. Palémon castigates him for having attempted to convert her in the first place. Athanaël falls into a depressed sleep and has an erotic vision of Thaïs. He tries to seize her, but she laughingly evades him. Then, a second vision tells him that Thaïs is dying.
Scene 3
Feeling that existence is worth nothing without her, he repudiates all his vows and rushes off to find her. He reaches the convent and finds her on her deathbed. He tells her that all he taught her was a lie, that "nothing is true but life and the love of human beings," and that he loves her. Blissfully unaware, she describes the heavens opening and the angels welcoming her into their midst. She dies, and Athanaël collapses in despair.
Selected recordings
- 1952 - Géori Boué
Géori Boué is a French soprano, particularly associated with the French repertory, especially Thais.- Life and career :...
, Roger BourdinRoger Bourdin was a French baritone, particularly associated with the French repertory. His career was largely based in France.- Life and career :...
, Jean Giraudeau - Choeurs et Orchestre de l'Opéra de Paris, Georges SébastianGeorges Sébastian was a French conductor of Hungarian birth, particularly associated with Wagner and the post-romantic repertory ....
- 1961 - Renée Doria
Renée Doria is a French opera singer, one of the leading lyric coloratura soprano of her era in France.- Biography :...
, Robert MassardRobert Massard is a French baritone, primarily associated with the French repertory, one of the few outstanding French opera singers of the postwar era.- Career :Massard was born in Pau, France, and was mainly self-taught...
, Michel SénéchalMichel Sénéchal is a French tenor, particularly associated with French and Italian character roles in a repertory ranging from Baroque to contemporary works.- Life and career :...
- Choeurs et Orchestre de Radio France, Jésus EtcheverryJésus Etcheverry was a French operatic conductor.He began studying the violin while still very young, and played with diverse small orchestras to pay for his tuitions. At age 20, he was engaged by the Symphonic Orchestra in Casablanca, as first violinist, and shortly after began teaching at the...
- 1974 - Anna Moffo
Anna Moffo was an Italian-American opera singer and one of the leading lyric-coloratura sopranos of her generation...
, Gabriel BacquierGabriel Bacquier is a French operatic baritone. One of the leading baritones of the 20th century and particularly associated with the French and Italian repertories, he is considered a fine singing-actor equally at home in dramatic or comic roles.- Life and career:Gabriel Bacquier was born in...
, José CarrerasJosep Maria Carreras i Coll , better known as José Carreras, is a Spanish Catalan tenor particularly known for his performances in the operas of Verdi and Puccini...
- Ambrosian Opera Chorus, New Philarmonia Orchestra, Julius RudelJulius Rudel is a major American opera and orchestra conductor who emigrated to the US from Austria at the age of 17 and studied conducting at the Mannes College of Music in New York City. He then forged a 35-year career with the New York City Opera, from 1944 to 1979, and was the Music Director...
(RCA)
- 1976 - Beverly Sills
Beverly Sills was a Jewish American operatic soprano who enjoyed a successful career during the 1950s through the 1970s....
, Sherrill MilnesSherrill Milnes is an American operatic baritone most famous for his Verdi roles. From 1965 until 1997 he was associated with the Metropolitan Opera....
, Nicolai GeddaThe Swedish tenor Nicolai Gedda is a famous opera singer and recitalist. Having made some two hundred recordings, Gedda is said to be the most widely recorded tenor in history...
- John Alldis Choir, New Philarmonia Orchestra, Lorin MaazelLorin Varencove Maazel is a conductor, violinist and composer.- Early life :Maazel was born to Jewish-American parents in Neuilly-sur-Seine in France and brought up in the United States...
(EMI)
- 1997 - Renée Fleming
Renée Fleming is a Grammy Award winning American soprano specializing in opera and lieder. Fleming has a full lyric soprano voice....
, Thomas Hampson, Giuseppe SabbatiniGiuseppe Sabbatini is a lyric tenor.His opera repertoire includes Idomeneo, Mitridate, re di Ponto, Don Giovanni, Linda di Chamounix, La favorita, L'elisir d'amore, Anna Bolena, Maria Stuarda, Roberto Devereux, Lucrezia Borgia, I puritani, Rigoletto, La Traviata, Falstaff, La Bohème, Eugene...
– Choeur et orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine, Yves Abel (Decca)
- 2004 - Eva Mei (Thais, soprano), Michele Pertusi (Athanael, bass-baritone), William Joyner (Nicias, tenor) – Orchestra e Coro del Teatro La Fenice di Venezia (Dynamic Srl Italy, 2004)
External links