Phryné in the press

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11/02/2022

Wagner’s Die Walküre triumphed at the Opéra a few days before the premiere of Phryné in May 1893. Its success prompted the mischievous composer and critic Ernest Reyer to remark: ‘All that remains for French composers is to fail gracefully.’ But, almost as if Camille Saint-Saëns had wanted to cock a snook at the German school, Phryné immediately proved to be a flamboyant refutation of that witticism.

CD-Book Camille Saint-Saëns. Phryné (2022). Translation: Charles Johnston.