Ancient Greece revived

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08/09/2023

Ariane, an opera in five acts premiered at the Palais Garnier on 31 October 1906, has long since left the repertory, despite a brilliant revival in that same theatre in 1937, with Georges Thill among the cast. Massenet’s score nevertheless deserves to be reconsidered within its composer’s oeuvre, because, despite some dramaturgical weaknesses, it is perfectly worthy of taking its place alongside those works retained by posterity. It also provides an original and convincing answer to a recurring question in the early years of the twentieth century: what operatic form was appropriate for presentation after the Wagnerian revolution?

CD-Book Jules Massenet. Ariane (2023). Translation: Charles Johnston.