Jules Massenet. Ariane
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CD-Book. Bru Zane Label. French Opera Collection n. 37.
‘It would be difficult to find a simpler and more poignant subject’, Massenet remarked during the composition of Ariane, a vast score in five acts premiered at the Paris Opéra in October 1906. The libretto by Catulle Mendès is part ancient drama, part symbolist poem, and sets Phaedra and Ariadne, two sisters in love with Theseus, in violent conflict with each other. This epic work does not shrink from relating the combat against the Minotaur, from showing a ship tossed by the raging billows, nor even from transporting the audience to the Underworld where Persephone reigns. Despite its flamboyant orchestration, its grandiose scenography and its triumphant premiere, Ariane remains one of the few operas by the composer that has never been recorded until now.
Content
Alexandre Dratwicki – When the thread breaks...
Jean-Christophe Branger – Ancient Greece revived
Michela Niccolai – Ariane’s galley
Gabriel Fauré – A few remarks on the premiere
Two interviews with Massenet : La Liberté (4 octobre 1906) ; L'Intransigeant (12 octobre 1906).
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publication date : 12/01/24