Déjanire
| Déjanire | |
|---|---|
| Opera by Camille Saint-Saëns | |
 Lucien Muratore as Hercules in the premiere production | |
| Librettist |
|
| Language | French |
| Based on | The Trachiniae by Sophocles |
| Premiere | 28 August 1898 Arènes, Béziers |
Déjanire is an
Composition history
Déjanire began its life in 1898 as a play with accompanying symphonic music, choruses and a ballet.
At first Saint-Saëns was reluctant to have his music performed in what he called an "abominable temple of blood".[2] However, Castelbon managed to convince him by inviting him to visit the arena where his arrival was greeted by hidden musicians playing in his honour. In August 1898 Déjanire opened in Béziers with two performances before 12,000 spectators each time.[3] The reception was ecstatic with Saint-Saëns conducting a huge musical ensemble consisting of a choir of hundreds, massed military bands and an orchestra that included 18 harps and an array of 25 trumpets.[4] Although fatally ill and suffering from deafness, Louis Gallet managed to attend the second performance. In his memoirs Saint-Saëns recalled:
In spite of everything, including his ill health which made the trip very painful, he wanted to see his work once more. He heard nothing, however – neither the artists, the choruses, nor even the applause of the several thousand spectators who encored it enthusiastically. A little later he passed on, leaving in his friends' hearts and at the work-tables of his collaborators a void which it is impossible to fill.[5]
Twelve years later, Saint-Saëns transformed Gallet's play into a fully-fledged opera to fulfill a commission from the Opéra de Monte-Carlo. Gabriel Fauré was in the audience for its world premiere on 14 March 1911, conducted by Léon Jehin and directed by Raoul Gunsbourg.[6]
Performance history
The first performance was given on 28 August 1898 in the arena at Béziers, with Saint-Saëns conducting, in front of an audience of 8000. The following year it was performed again, this time with Gabriel Fauré conducting and Saint-Saëns in the audience. Following the Monte Carlo premiere, the work was performed at the
The first performance of Déjanire in the United States came on 9 December 1915 when it was presented by the
| Role | Voice type | Cast, 14 March 1911 (Conductor: Léon Jehin) |
|---|---|---|
| Déjanire (Deianira) | soprano | Félia Litvinne |
| Iole | soprano | Yvonne Dubel |
| Phénice | contralto | Germaine Bailac |
| Hercule (Hercules) | tenor | Lucien Muratore |
| Philoctète (Philoctetes) | baritone | Henri Dangès |
| The people of Oechalia and Trachis (chorus) | ||
Synopsis
- Place: Trachis
- Time: Ancient Greece
Recordings
- The tenor aria, "Viens, O toi dont le clair visage", from Déjanire can be heard on Antonio Paoli – Il Mito Dell'opera (Bongiovanni #1117).
- Concert performance and world premiere recording in December 2020 at the Palazzetto Bru Zanewas cancelled due to the corona pandemic.
References
Notes
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- ^ a b Hugh Macdonald: "Déjanire ", Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed 2 March 2009), (subscription access) Archived 16 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Original French: "le temple abominable du sang", quoted in Molénat (10 August 2000)
- ^ Festival de Radio France et Montpellier
- ^ Rees (22 February 1999)
- ^ Saint-Saëns (1919)
- ^ Casaglia
- ^ The New York Times (17 December 1911)
- ^ Lahee (1922)
- ^ This synopsis is based on Gelli (2007)
Sources
- Casaglia, Gherardo (2005). "Déjanire, 14 March 1911". L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia (in Italian).
- Festival de Radio France et Montpellier, Camille Saint-Saëns: Déjanire, 9 July 1985. Accessed 24 February 2009.
- Fournier, Michel. Béziers, Bayreuth français In: La révolte du Midi viticole cent ans après, 1907-2007 [online]. Perpignan: Presses universitaires de Perpignan, 2008 (generated 21 août 2021). Available on the Internet: http://books.openedition.org/pupvd/23927, ISBN 9782354123703.
- Gelli, Piero (ed.), "Déjanire" in Dizionario dell'Opera, Baldini Castoldi Dalai, 2007, ISBN 88-6073-184-4. Accessed online 27 February 2009.
- Hero, Florian, "Saint-Saëns en plein vent", Maison de la Radio, 9 June 2021.
- Lahee, Henry Charles, Annals of Music in America, Marshall Jones Co., 1922. Accessed 24 February 2009.
- Macdonald, Hugh, "Déjanire", Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed 24 February 2009), (subscription access) Archived 16 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
- Molénat, Jacques, La movida de Béziers, L'Express, 10 August 2000. Accessed 24 February 2009.
- The New York Times, Dances Shocked Paris; Flimsy Draperies Now Barred, 17 December 1911. Accessed 24 February 2009.
- Rees, Brian, A proposal: Saint-Saens - the movie, The Independent, 22 February 1999. Accessed 24 February 2009.
- Saint-Saëns, Camille, Musical Memories (in English translation by Edwin Gile Rich), Small, Maynard & Co., 1919. Accessed 24 February 2009.
External links
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