''Kassya'' is a French-language opera in 4 acts and 5 tableaux by

Léo Delibes Clément Philibert Léo Delibes (; 21 February 1836 – 16 January 1891) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer, best known for his ballets and French opera, operas. His works include the ballets ''Coppélia'' (1870) and ''Sylvia (b ...

to a libretto by

Henri Meilhac Henri Meilhac (; 23 February 1830 – 6 July 1897) was a prolific French playwright and opera librettist, known for his collaborations with Ludovic Halévy on comic operas with music by Jacques Offenbach. He also wrote occasionally for serious w ...

and Philippe Gille after a novella by

Leopold von Sacher-Masoch Leopold Ritter von Sacher-Masoch (; 27 January 1836 – 9 March 1895) was an Austrian nobleman, writer and journalist, who gained renown for his romantic stories of Galician life. The term ''masochism'' is derived from his name, invented by h ...

. Unfinished on Delibes' death in 1891, it was completed and orchestrated by

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

in 1893. The opera was premiered at the

Opéra-Comique The Opéra-Comique () is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular Théâtre de la foire, theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief riva ...

, Paris, on 24 March 1893, with the following cast: *Sonia –

Cécile Simonnet Cécile Simonnet (4 March 1863, Lille - 5 April 1921, Ravières) was a French operatic soprano.Gourret J. ''Dictionnaire des cantatrices de l'Opera de Paris.'' Editions Albatros, Paris, 1987. Having obtained in Lille a first prize for singing, she ...

*Kassya – Mme De Nuovina *La Bohémienne – Mlle Elven *Nidda – Mlle Delorn *Lacka – Mlle Robert *Cyrille – M. Gibert *Le comte de Zévale –

Gabriel Soulacroix Gabriel-Valentin Soulacroix (11 December 1853, in Fumel – 16 August 1905, in Paris) was a French operatic baritone. He studied at Toulouse, where he won four first prizes, and then in Paris.Steane J. Gabriel Soulacroix. In: ''The New Grove Dic ...

*Kotska – M. Lorrain *Kolénati – M. Challet *Mockou – M. Bernaert *Un sergent – M. Artus *Yahn – M. Troy ::Source: ''Les Annales du théâtre et de la musique, 1893''. The opera was respectfully received, but the general view was that it showed the composer's creative gifts in decline. It ran for twelve performances. Noël and Stoullig, p. 138 A modern critic considered that the libretto was weak, but the last two acts, with the stamp of Massenet most in evidence, are the best, with the ballet full of Hungarian colour.Laurent, François. Retour d'une bohemienne - Kassya de Delibes. '' Diapason'', no.671, September 2018, p60. The work was performed in concert in July 2018 in Montpellier with

Cyrille Dubois Cyrille Dubois (born 27 September 1984) is a French tenor performing as an opera and lieder singer. Early life and education Cyrille Dubois spent his childhood in Ouistreham in Normandy, France. As a child he demonstrated an early talent for s ...

as Cyrille,

Véronique Gens Véronique Gens (born 19 April 1966) is a French operatic soprano. She has spent much of her career recording and performing Baroque music, Baroque music. Gens was born in Orléans, France, and studied at the Conservatoire de Paris, winning fir ...

in the title role, Alexandre Duhamel as the count, and Anne-Catherine Gillet as Sonia, conducted by

Michael Schønwandt Michael Detlev Schønwandt (born 10 September 1953 in Frederiksberg) is a Danish conductor. In Denmark, he studied piano, theory, and composition, and later continued musical studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London. Biography In 1979, Sc ...

References

Sources

* Operas 1893 operas Operas by Léo Delibes Operas completed by others Operas based on novels French-language operas Unfinished operas Adaptations of works by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch {{french-opera-stub