("lyric play", an

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libre ...

in a declamatory style) in five acts. The music was composed by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by

Henri Cain Henri is an Estonian, Finnish, French, German and Luxembourgish form of the masculine given name Henry. People with this given name ; French noblemen :'' See the ' List of rulers named Henry' for Kings of France named Henri.'' * Henri I de Mont ...

and

Arthur Bernède Arthur Bernède (5 January 1871 – 20 March 1937) was a French writer, poet, opera librettist, and playwright. Bernède was born in Redon, Ille-et-Vilaine department, in Brittany. In 1919, Bernède joined forces with actor René Navarre, w ...

, based on the

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

(1884) of the same name by

Alphonse Daudet Alphonse Daudet (; 13 May 184016 December 1897) was a French novelist. He was the husband of Julia Daudet and father of Edmée, Léon and Lucien Daudet. Early life Daudet was born in Nîmes, France. His family, on both sides, belonged to the ...

. It was first performed on 27 November 1897 by the

Opéra Comique ''Opéra comique'' (; plural: ''opéras comiques'') is a genre of French opera that contains spoken dialogue and arias. It emerged from the popular '' opéras comiques en vaudevilles'' of the Fair Theatres of St Germain and St Laurent (and to a l ...

at the

Théâtre Lyrique The Théâtre Lyrique was one of four opera companies performing in Paris during the middle of the 19th century (the other three being the Opéra, the Opéra-Comique, and the Théâtre-Italien). The company was founded in 1847 as the Opér ...

on the

Place du Châtelet The Place du Châtelet () is a public square in Paris, on the right bank of the river Seine, on the borderline between the 1st and 4th arrondissements. It lies at the north end of the Pont au Change, a bridge that connects the Île de la Cité, ...

in Paris with

Emma Calvé Emma Calvé, born Rosa Emma Calvet (15 August 1858 – 6 January 1942) was a French operatic soprano. Calvé was probably the most famous French female opera singer of the Belle Époque. Hers was an international career, and she sang regularl ...

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. Marguerite Carré - Paul Mejat - Gallica (adjusted)

Marguerite Carré - Paul Mejat - Gallica (adjusted)

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 Albert Carré (born Strasbourg 22 June 1852, died Paris 12 December 1938) was a French theatre director, opera director, actor and librettist. He was the nephew of librettist Michel Carré (1821–1872) and cousin of cinema director Michel Carr ...

with decor by Amable and

Lucien Jusseaume Louis Hubert called Lucien Jusseaume (10 February 1861 – 8 July 1925) was a French decor painter. Biography Born in the 19th arrondissement of Paris, Lucien Jusseaume was the son of Nicolas-Cyprien Jusseaume (b.1833), painter decorator, and M ...

and costumes by Félix Fournery, and featured Carré's wife

Marguerite Carré Marguerite Carré (''née'' Giraud, also known as Marguerite Giraud-Carré) (16 August 1880 – 26 November 1947) was a French soprano who created numerous roles at the Paris Opéra-Comique in the course of her career. She was born in Cabourg, F ...

, 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 Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situ ...

and 1899 in Lisbon,

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandr ...

, Algiers,

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the Capital city, capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of the same name, Brazil's List of Brazilian states by population, third-most populous state, and the List of largest citi ...

, and

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north ...

. It was later given in Antwerp (1901),

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a list of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's ad ...

(1903), and

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

(1903).

Mary Garden as Sappho - Kobbé 1919 - Google Books

Beginning on 17 November 1909 the opera was presented in New York by

Oscar Hammerstein Oscar Hammerstein may refer to: *Oscar Hammerstein I (1846–1919), cigar manufacturer, opera impresario and theatre builder *Oscar Hammerstein II Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II (; July 12, 1895 – August 23, 1960) w ...

at his

Manhattan Opera House The Manhattan Center is a building in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Built in 1906 and located at 311 West 34th Street, it houses Manhattan Center Studios, the location of two recording studios; its Grand Ballroom; and the Hammerstein Ballro ...

. It was sung in French with the popular

Mary Garden A Mary garden is a small sacred garden enclosing a statue or shrine of the Virgin Mary, who is known to many Christians as the Blessed Virgin, Our Lady, or the Mother of God. In the New Testament, Mary is the mother of Jesus of Nazareth. Mary ...

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 ''Hérodiade'' is an opera in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Paul Milliet and Henri Grémont, based on the novella ''Hérodias'' (1877) by Gustave Flaubert. It was first performed at the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussel ...

'' (also a New York premiere) and ''

Werther ''Werther'' is an opera (''drame lyrique'') in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Édouard Blau, Paul Milliet and Georges Hartmann (who used the pseudonym Henri Grémont). It is loosely based on Goethe's epistolary novel ''T ...

''.''The New York Times''
14 November
an

. It was revived in a concert performance at Carnegie Hall on 23 January 1979 with

Elisabeth Söderström Anna Elisabeth Söderström (married name Olow; 7 May 192720 November 2009) was a Swedish soprano who performed both opera and song, and was known as a leading interpreter of the works of Janáček, Rachmaninoff and Sibelius.Elizabeth Sleeman, ...

as Fanny Legrand.

Harold C. Schonberg Harold Charles Schonberg (29 November 1915 – 26 July 2003) was an American music critic and author. He is best known for his contributions in ''The New York Times'', where he was chief music critic from 1960 to 1980. In 1971, he became the fi ...

, writing in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', 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 Wexford Festival Opera () is an opera festival that takes place in the town of Wexford in south-eastern Ireland during the months of October and November. The festival began in 1951 under Tom Walsh and a group of opera lovers who quickly gene ...

in 2001Review of the Wexford Festival recording
in ''

Gramophone A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...

'' (March 2004). with

Ermonela Jaho Ermonela Jaho (born 1974) is an Albanian operatic soprano. She was described in ''The Economist'' as "the world’s most acclaimed soprano". The ''Financial Times'' said "Ermonela Jaho throws heart and soul into her singing... Don't even try to ...

, and at the Massenet Festival in Saint-Étienne in 2003 conducted by

Laurent Campellone Laurent Campellone (born January 23, 1972) is a French conductor. Known around the world for his expertise in the French opera of the Romantic era, he is often compared to Michel Plasson. Critics consider him today as "one of the best defenders ...

.''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 Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border ...

, 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 Mireille () is a French given name, derived from the Provençal Occitan name ''Mirèio'' (or ''Mirèlha'' in the classical norm of Occitan, ). It could be related to the Occitan verb ''mirar'' "to look, to admire" or to the given names ''Miriam'' ...

''. 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 Ville-d'Avray () is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. The commune is part of the arrondissement of Boulogne-Billancourt in the Hauts-de-Seine department. In 2019, it had a population of 1 ...

'' 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 Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the commune ha ...

'' 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 Georgette Leblanc (8 February 1869, Rouen – 27 October 1941, Le Cannet) was a French operatic soprano, actress, author, and the sister of novelist Maurice Leblanc. She became particularly associated with the works of Jules Massenet and ...

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 EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 2012, ...

/ Pathé Marconi and distributed in the US under the Peters International label; now available on CD) stars

Renée Doria Renée Doria (13 February 1921 – 6 March 2021) was a French opera singer, one of the leading lyric coloratura sopranos of her era in France. Biography Born Renée Dumazert in Perpignan, France, after a thorough musical training (piano, solfe ...

as Sapho. David L. Kirk, writing in ''

Fanfare A fanfare (or fanfarade or flourish) is a short musical flourish which is typically played by trumpets, French horns or other brass instruments, often accompanied by percussion. It is a "brief improvised introduction to an instrumental perfo ...

'' 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 In sound and music production, sonic artifact, or simply artifact, refers to sonic material that is accidental or unwanted, resulting from the editing or manipulation of a sound. Types Because there are always technical restrictions in the way a ...

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 WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the O ...

. * 1978:

(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 Roger Jean Boutry (27 February 1932 – 7 September 2019) was a French composer and conductor. Biography Born in the 10th arrondissement of Paris, he resided in Paris. A virtuoso pianist, renowned and internationally recognized conductor, inge ...

(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 Brandon Jovanovich (born 5 October 1970) is an American operatic tenor whose repertoire encompasses Wagner, Puccini, Strauss, Britten, and from early Baroque to world premiere operas. He is most known for his passionate portrayals of Slavic, Fre ...

(Jean Gaussin); Agata Bienkowska (Divonne); Massimiliano Gagliardo (Césaire); Ermonela Jaho (Irène); Luca Salsi (Caoudal); Angel Pazos (La Bordérie);

Nicolas Courjal Nicolas Courjal (born 18 January 1973) is a French operatic bass. Life Born in Rennes, Courjal studied the violin at the . In 1995, he entered Jane Berbié's singing class. He then performed at the Opéra-Comique and the Hessisches Staatsthe ...

(The restaurant keeper);

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

. * 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). ''

'', 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 Rodney Milnes Blumer OBE (26 July 1936 – 5 December 2015) was an English music critic, musicologist, writer, translator and broadcaster, with a particular interest in opera.Rodney Milnes. '' The New Grove Dictionary of Opera''. Macmillan ...

(1992). "''Sapho'' (ii)" in Sadie 1992, vol. 4, pp. 176–177. *

Sadie, Stanley Stanley John Sadie (; 30 October 1930 – 21 March 2005) was an influential and prolific British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the ''Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1980), which was publi ...

, editor (1992). ''

The New Grove Dictionary of Opera ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' is an encyclopedia of opera, considered to be one of the best general reference sources on the subject. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volu ...

'' (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

* {{authority control 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