Maurice Leloir - Jules Massenet - Cigale - Original

''Cigale'' is a divertissement- ballet in two acts by

Jules Massenet Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (; 12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer of the Romantic era best known for his operas, of which he wrote more than thirty. The two most frequently staged are '' Manon'' (1884) and ''Werther' ...

to a scenario by Henri Cain. It was composed in

Égreville Égreville () is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. Demographics Inhabitants of Égreville are called ''Égrevillois''. See also *Communes of the Seine-et-Marne department The fol ...

during the summer of 1902, first published by Heugel in 1903 and first performed at the

Opéra-Comique The Opéra-Comique is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief rival, the Comédie-Italienne ...

in Paris on 4 February 1904. The story is inspired by

Jean de la Fontaine Jean de La Fontaine (, , ; 8 July 162113 April 1695) was a French fabulist and one of the most widely read French poets of the 17th century. He is known above all for his ''Fables'', which provided a model for subsequent fabulists across Euro ...

's fable ''La cigale et la fourmi'' (a version of The Ant and the Grasshopper), and portrays "Cigale" (Cicada) as a charitable young woman who takes pity on "La Pauvrette" (The Poor Girl) and gives away her meager purse, bonnet and red umbrella. She is then ridiculed and taken advantage of by "Madame Fourmi" (Madam Ant), ticketed by "Le Garçon de Banque" (The Banker), and ravished by "Le Petit Ami" (The Boyfriend). Cigale, whose kindness and carefree nature leads her to lose what little she has, is refused shelter by Madame Fourmi and left to die in the snow at the close of the ballet. She ascends to heaven with the angels while La Pauvrette and Le Petit Ami run off together with her bonnet and red umbrella. ''Cigale'' is rarely performed and is not part of the standard ballet repertory. The music, recorded by conductor

Richard Bonynge Richard Alan Bonynge ( ) (born 29 September 1930) is an Australian conductor and pianist. He is the widower of Australian dramatic coloratura soprano Dame Joan Sutherland. Bonynge conducted virtually all of Sutherland's operatic performances ...

and first available commercially in 1980, has been re-released on compact disc and digital media several times, most recently in 2020.

Characters

*Cigale (Cicada) *La Pauvrette (The Poor Girl) *Le Petit Ami (The Boyfriend) *Madame Fourmi (Madam Ant) *Le Garçon de Banque (The Banker)

References

External links

* {{The Ant and the Grasshopper Ballets by Jules Massenet Ballets by Henri Cain Works based on fables 1904 ballet premieres