Thais
by one Jules Massenet
· Thais, the opera by Jules Massenet, premiered in 1894 at the Paris Opera. Massenet wrote the opera for his muse/mistress, Sybil Sanderson. The premiere production of the play was not much of a success and was subsequently revised in 1897; it has since been considered one of Massenet’s best works.
· The opera is based on the 1889 novel by Anatole France, which itself was based on the life of Thais, a beautiful courtesan who lived in Egypt during the forth century and was torn between spirituality and sensuality.
· The opera’s plot traces the journeys together of two unlikely characters – Thais’s from a courtesan to a saint, and Athanaël’s from a pious monk to a love-obsessed lunatic. Along the way, the two meet with worldly temptations and spiritual quests.
· Athanaël is a young monk who lives in a convent in the desert. There he sees a vision of a famous actress/courtesan named Thais. He is entranced by her and sets out for Alexandria, where she lives, with the intention of saving her from her evil ways.
· Athanaël meets her at the house of his former friend, Nicias, who Thais is currently “entertaining.” Athanaël eventually convinces Thais of the righteousness of his cause, sets fire to her house and possessions, and leads her to the salvation offered by the convent in the desert. Once there, they part ways, but Athanaël is haunted by thoughts of Thais and his love for her. He returns to the convent where he finds Thais dying. On her deathbed she sees angels preparing to welcome her, while Athanaël finally admits his mortal love for her that he had repressed for so long.
Images
LEFT: The original poster from the 1894 production of Thais; RIGHT: Sybil Sanderson as "Thais"
A recent production of Thais at the Chicago Lyric Opera.
Sources