Sapho (Massenet)

("lyric play", an opera in a declamatory style) in five acts. The music was composed by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Cain and Arthur Bernède, based on the novel (1884) of the same name by Alphonse Daudet. It was first performed on 27 November 1897 by the Opéra Comique at the Théâtre Lyrique on the Place du Châtelet in Paris with Emma Calvé as Fanny Legrand. A charming and effective piece, the success of which is highly dependent on the charisma of its lead soprano, it has never earned a place in the standard operatic repertory.

Performance history

In its first production in 1897 ''Sapho'' was presented in a heavily truncated form of four tableaux, due to the limited availability of Calvé, as well as the approaching death of Daudet (who was a close friend of Massenet), and the acting deficiencies of the tenor Leprestre, who was playing the romantic lead role of Jean Gaussin. In this initial run at the Opéra-Comique, the opera received 42 performances.Milnes 1992, p. 176; Wolff 1953, p. 161; Wild & Charlton 2005, p. 401; Loewenberg 1978, column 1206.

A revised version, first performed on 22 January 1909 at the Salle Favart, contained a new, sixth scene, added as a second tableau to Act 3. The confrontation at the Ville d'Avray restaurant between Fanny, Jean and Caoudal, now Act 3 sc 1, was shortened, and elements of that added to a scene where Jean goes through Fanny's letters and discovers her past. This revival was produced by Albert Carré with decor by Amable and Lucien Jusseaume and costumes by Félix Fournery, and featured Carré's wife Marguerite Carré, who carried the show. It was revived again on 17 May 1916 and 23 February 1935 and had received a total of 126 representations by the time of its last performance at the Opéra-Comique in 1936.

The opera was first performed outside France on 14 April 1898 in Italian at the Teatro Lirico in Milan. This was followed by performances in 1898 in Geneva and 1899 in Lisbon, Alexandria, Algiers, Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, and Bucharest. It was later given in Antwerp (1901), The Hague (1903), and Brussels (1903).

Beginning on 17 November 1909 the opera was presented in New York by Oscar Hammerstein at his Manhattan Opera House. It was sung in French with the popular Mary Garden as Fanny Legrand, but her performance was considered a disappointment. It was the third Massenet opera to be presented there within a ten-day period, the other two being ''Hérodiade'' (also a New York premiere) and ''Werther''.''The New York Times''
14 November
an

.

It was revived in a concert performance at Carnegie Hall on 23 January 1979 with Elisabeth Söderström as Fanny Legrand. Harold C. Schonberg, writing in ''The New York Times'', commented:

It was fun to hear this dated piece, but the chances are that not many impresarios will be rushing to revive it. "Sapho" is, like so many of Massenet's operas, superbly professional. He wrote well for the voice, orchestrated expertly, knew exactly what he was doing. He well knew how to tickle his audience, and could be outrageously sentimental – as he is in the last act of "Sapho," with the solo violin weeping away in the famous Massenet kind of treacle. "Sapho" is a collation, with its quotes (deliberate) from other operas, its touch of folk music, its in-and-out dances, its opportunities for vocal and histrionic display. It is a "vehicle," ... and sopranos must love it.Schonberg 1979.

The opera was also performed at Wexford Festival Opera in 2001Review of the Wexford Festival recording
in '' Gramophone'' (March 2004). with Ermonela Jaho, and at the Massenet Festival in Saint-Étienne in 2003 conducted by Laurent Campellone.''Sapho'' at Saint-Étienne 2003-11-07
"Notice de spectacle" at BnF.

Roles

Synopsis

:Place: Paris
:Time: late 19th century

The story concerns the beautiful Sapho, an artist's model of a certain age and notorious life, whose real name is Fanny Legrand. She begins an affair with a young man, Jean Gaussin, but the relationship, as is so often the case in opera, is ill-fated.

Act 1

''A fancy ball at Caoudal's studio''

Jean Gaussin is a shy and unsophisticated young man from Provence, who has come to Paris to study. At a costume ball given by the sculptor Caoudal, amid the noisy dance music and the mad whirl, the confused Gaussin withdraws and sings of his native country, in a broad and expressive cantabile, one of the few aria-like passages that the opera contains. Fanny, whose fancy is captured by this young man, so strangely different from her friends, promptly makes his acquaintance, and, as the guests are shouting for her to come to supper, takes him away with her.

Act 2

''Rooms of Jean Gaussin''

Jean Gaussin is in his lodgings, where his parents are installing him as a student. He sings a song, "O Magali, ma tant amado", based on a traditional melody, which Gounod had already used in ''Mireille''. It reappears later and adds a bit of Provençal local colour to the piece. Other than this song and a fragment of his aria from the first act, all is conversation in music, rapid and free declamation over a continually varied orchestral accompaniment.

Gaussin's father and mother and Irène, a "jeune fille," adopted by them, and evidently destined as the wife for Jean, say "good-bye". No sooner are they out the door than Fanny comes in, unannounced, immediately takes possession of Jean and the apartment, and drives out all memory of his parents. Here is more of the conversational style, interrupted by a duet between these two that has the accent of passion.

Act 3

''Scene 1: The restaurant at Ville-d'Avray''

The lovers are at a little outdoor restaurant near Paris, and still very happy, as they sing together in another duet. There is an artists' dinner at the place, and as the diners arrive there is more lively chorusing and an imitation of a wandering band. By a chance word from Caoudal, Jean learns for the first time that his adored Fanny is none other than Sapho, the notorious model, and he is told something of her past. He is thunderstruck, and when Fanny reappears to join the party, she at once sees what has happened, as Jean turns upon her with rage and leaves. She sings her own rage in music much more declamatory than lyrical, and the scene is suddenly and violently brought to an end.

''Scene 2: Fanny and Jean's house at Ville-d'Avray''

Jean has returned to their house and finds a box belonging to Fanny containing letters from her past lovers. Fanny has followed him. He forces her to burn the letters after reading them first, learning that she has an illegitimate child whose father is a convicted forger. Finding it increasingly difficult to believe that he is her first and only true love, he brutally rejects her and leaves.

Act 4

''At Avignon''

Jean has gone back to his parents in Provence. The "Magali" air is heard in the prelude, sung at a distance. Jean has come back to ask forgiveness, which he very promptly obtains from his mother, in a duet. This is followed by an affectionate air sung by Irène. Unexpectedly Sapho appears, with the obvious intention of reclaiming Jean. He receives her coldly and reminds her of her past and the impossibility of his rejoining her. Fanny is defeated in an encounter with his mother and goes away without him.

Act 5

''The little house at Ville-d'Avray''

The long prelude to this act is titled "Solitude". Fanny is alone in the country lodging they previously shared and is about to leave, when Jean returns. She asks him to go again, but he will not have it, and says he is now ready to sacrifice all that life may hold for him. She promises to stay, but as he falls asleep in his chair, though convinced of his sincerity, she steals away and leaves him.

Recordings

In 1903 the composer accompanied (on the piano) Georgette Leblanc on wax cylinder in an extract "Pendant un an je fus ta femme" from the opera.Jules Massenet: Sapho. In: Kaminski, Piotr. ''Mille et Un Opéras''. Fayard, 2003, p885.
There are at least three recordings of the complete opera. A recording of a "live performance, London, September 1973" (released on LP c. 1974 by MRF Records, and on CD in 2005 on the Opera D'Oro label) features Milla Andrew as Sapho. A studio recording (released on LP in 1978 by EMI/ Pathé Marconi and distributed in the US under the Peters International label; now available on CD) stars Renée Doria as Sapho. David L. Kirk, writing in ''Fanfare'' magazine says of the Opera D'Oro recording that "there are no distracting stage or audience noises. I suspect this CD is made from LP records because some surface noise is faintly audible. It is in stereo and the sound is okay." He also says the quality of the two performances is fairly equal, but the sound of the EMI recording is superior.Kirk 2005. The Wexford Festival performance is also available on CD.

* 1973: Milla Andrew (Fanny Legrand); Alexander Oliver (Jean Gaussin); George MacPherson (Césaire); Jenny Hill (Irène); Laura Sarti (Divonne); BBC Orchestra & Chorus; Bernard Keefe (conductor); Opera D’Oro OPD7015 (2 CDs: 125:20 ); recorded live in London in September 1973; released in 2005 at two quality levels: in the higher-priced "Grand Tier" format the packaging includes a booklet with notes and the complete libretto.Listings
at WorldCat.
* 1978: Renée Doria (Fanny Legrand); Ginès Sirera (Jean Gaussin); Gisele Ory (Divonne); Adrien Legros (Césaire); Elya Waisman (Irène); René Gamboa (Caoudal); Christian Baudean (La Bordérie); Jean-Jacques Doumene (The restaurant keeper); Orchestre Symphonique de la Garde Républicaine; Roger Boutry (conductor); CDRG 103 (2 CDs: 129:28); no release date; CD includes booklet with notes, but no libretto. The LP version includes the French libretto
Listings
at WorldCat.
* 2001: Giuseppina Piunti (Fanny Legrand); Brandon Jovanovich (Jean Gaussin); Agata Bienkowska (Divonne); Massimiliano Gagliardo (Césaire); Ermonela Jaho (Irène); Luca Salsi (Caoudal); Angel Pazos (La Bordérie); Nicolas Courjal (The restaurant keeper); Wexford Festival Opera Chorus; National Philharmonic Orchestra of Belarus; Jean-Pierre Tingaud (conductor); Fonè CD/SACD 023 (2 CDs: 124 minutes); notes and synopsis included.Listings
at WorldCat.

List of productions

References

Notes

Sources
* Harding, James (1970). ''Massenet''. New York: Saint Martin's Press
Editions and formats
at WorldCat.
* Holden, Amanda, editor (2001). ''The New Penguin Opera Guide''. London: Penguin Books. (paperback).
* Kirk, David L. (2005). Review of the recording of Massenet's ''Sapho'' on Opera D'Oro OPD7015 (2 CDs). ''Fanfare'', vol. 29, no. 2 (Nov/Dec 2005)
View online
at FanfareArchive.com; retrieved 30 March 2012, subscription required.
* Loewenberg, Alfred (1978). ''Annals of Opera 1597–1940'' (third edition, revised). Totowa, New Jersey: Rowman and Littlefield. .
* Macdonald, Hugh (2001). "Jules Massenet" in Holden 2001, pp. 342–354.
* Milnes, Rodney (1992). "''Sapho'' (ii)" in Sadie 1992, vol. 4, pp. 176–177.
* Sadie, Stanley, editor (1992). ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' (4 volumes). London: Macmillan. .
* Schonberg, Harold C. (25 January 1979)
"Opera: Massenet 'Sapho'; Out of the Past"
''The New York Times''.
*
* Wild, Nicole; Charlton, David (2005). ''Théâtre de l'Opéra-Comique Paris: répertoire 1762–1972''. Sprimont, Belgium: Editions Mardaga. .
* Wolff, Stéphane (1953). ''Un demi-siècle d'Opéra-Comique (1900–1950).'' Paris: André Bonne.

External links

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Operas by Jules Massenet
French-language operas
Operas
1897 operas
Opera world premieres at the Opéra-Comique
Operas based on novels
Operas set in France
Adaptations of works by Alphonse Daudet