''L'enfant prodigue'' (''The Prodigal Son'') is a ''scène lyrique'' or

cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian language, Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal music, vocal Musical composition, composition with an musical instrument, instrumental accompaniment, ty ...

in one act by

Claude Debussy Achille Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influe ...

with a text by Édouard Guinand. The cantata premiered in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

on June 27, 1884 as part of the

Prix de Rome The Prix de Rome () or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them t ...

for composition competition which was awarded to Debussy with this piece by 22 out of 28 votes.Noel, Édouard, Stoullig, Edmond. Les Annales du Théâtre et de la Musique, dixième année, 1884. G. Charpentier, Paris, 1885, p.377. The prize win garnered Debussy a scholarship to the

Académie des Beaux-Arts The (; ) is a French learned society based in Paris. It is one of the five academies of the . The current president of the academy (2021) is Alain-Charles Perrot, a French architect. Background The academy was created in 1816 in Paris as a me ...

, which included a four-year residence at the

Villa Medici The Villa Medici () is a sixteenth-century Italian Mannerist villa and an architectural complex with 7-hectare Italian garden, contiguous with the more extensive Borghese gardens, on the Pincian Hill next to Trinità dei Monti in the historic ...

, the

French Academy in Rome The French Academy in Rome (, ) is an academy located in the Villa Medici, within the Villa Borghese, on the Pincio (Pincian Hill) in Rome, Italy. History The Academy was founded at the Palazzo Capranica in 1666 by Louis XIV under the dire ...

, to further his studies (1885-1887). The soloists at its first performance were Rose Caron (Lia), Ernest Van Dyck (Azaël), and

Émile-Alexandre Taskin Émile-Alexandre Taskin, born in Paris on 18 March 1853, and died there on 5 October 1897, was a French operatic baritone mainly active at the Paris Opéra-Comique. He was a descendant of the harpsichord maker Pascal Taskin (1723–1793). After ...

(Siméon). The later version of 1907 was reorchestrated with the help of

André Caplet André Caplet (23 November 1878 – 22 April 1925) was a French composer and conductor of classical music. He was a friend of Claude Debussy and completed the orchestration of several of Debussy's compositions as well as arrangements of severa ...

and the premiere of this version took place at the

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

Music Festival in 1908, conducted by

Henry Wood Sir Henry Joseph Wood (3 March 186919 August 1944) was an English conductor best known for his association with London's annual series of promenade concerts, known as the Proms. He conducted them for nearly half a century, introducing hundr ...

. In 2021 George Morton created a chamber version of the work (for 10 musicians) for performances b
Opera on Location
in Sheffield. Although the work was never intended to be staged, it has on occasion been presented as a one-act opera.See Sosland (December 2004) and Holland (10 December 2004)

Synopsis

At sunrise Lia (soprano) laments the absence of Azaël (tenor), her prodigal son, an outcast after leaving his home to pursue the world's pleasures. Siméon (baritone) is weary of her constant thinking of Azaël. After the appearance and dance of young villagers, Azaël enters, and is joyfully reunited with his mother. She urges Siméon to forgive and welcome him home which he does, calling for a feast of celebration and singing praises to God.

Music

# Prélude # Air : "L'année, en vain chasse l'année; Azaël, pourquoi m'as-tu quittée?" # Récit : "Eh bien, encor des pleurs !" # Cortège et Air de danse # Récit et Air : "Ces airs joyeux; O temps, à jamais effacé" # Récit et Air : "Je m'enfuis" # Duo : "Rouvre les yeux à la lumière" # Air : "Mon fils est revenu; Plus de vains soucis" # Trio : "Mon cœur renaît à l’espérance"

Recordings

* 1982 –

Jessye Norman Jessye Mae Norman (September 15, 1945 – September 30, 2019) was an American opera singer and recitalist. She was able to perform dramatic soprano roles, but did not limit herself to that voice type. A commanding presence on operatic, concert ...

José Carreras Josep Maria Carreras Coll (; born 5 December 1946), better known as José Carreras (, ), is a Catalan operatic tenor from Spain who is particularly known for his performances in the operas of Donizetti, Verdi and Puccini. Born in Barcelona, ...

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (; 28 May 1925 – 18 May 2012) was a German lyric baritone and conductor of classical music. One of the most famous Lieder (art song) performers of the post-war period, he is best known as a singer of Franz Schubert's ...

Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra The Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra (German: ''Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR'') was a German radio orchestra based in Stuttgart in Germany. History The ensemble was founded in 1945 by American occupation authorities as the orches ...

and

Choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

, conducted by Gary Bertini ( Orfeo)

References

*Holland, Bernard
"Prodigal Son and a Brat, a Whimsical Pairing"
''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', 10 December 2004. *Sosland, Benjamin
"Realism Mixed With Dadaism Adds Spark to Opera Double Bill"
''The Juilliard Journal'', Vol. XX No. 4, December 2004. *Trezise, Simon
''The Cambridge companion to Debussy''
Cambridge University Press, 2003, pp. 63–64. {{DEFAULTSORT:Enfant Compositions by Claude Debussy 1884 cantatas Operas by Claude Debussy