Thaïs

The story

Athanaël, a cenobitic monk, is haunted by the memory of Thaïs, a famous courtesan. Convinced that he must save her, he decides to convert her. Thaïs, weary of her dissolute life, allows herself to be convinced and enters the convent… A drama where flesh and spirit confront each other until the tearing.

Libretto

Louis Gallet — based on the eponymous novel by Anatole France

In 1894, Massenet takes Anatole France's novel to create a sensual and mystical opera.Thaïs crystallises all the ambiguities of the late 19th century: the desire for spirituality coexists with a fascination for carnal pleasures, the imagined Orient dialogues with Christian asceticism.

The work enjoys immediate success, propelled by the famous "Meditation", an interlude for violin that accompanies Thaïs's conversion. Massenet offers Thaïs a role of remarkable vocal richness, oscillating between virtuosic vocalises and lines of great simplicity. The character of Athanaël, for his part, undergoes an inner transformation that the score translates with rare psychological finesse. From the certainty of the monk to the downfall of the man possessed by desire, Massenet probes the depths of the human soul.

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