Déjanire
was the final opera of
Camille Saint-Saëns
, premiered in Monte Carlo in 1911 and is likewise performed here by orchestral musicians and choristers from that city.
Saint-Saëns
' music seems to be finding a modest return to vogue, and it was gratifying to see this release reach classical best-seller charts in the spring of 2024. The opera was based on an epic play by
Louis Gallet
for which
wrote music in 1898 for an outdoor performance at a bullfighting ring. "Incidental music" doesn't quite cover it; the ensemble included hundreds of choristers, military bands, an orchestra with 18 harps and 25 trumpets, and ballet dancers. (One wants to see this version revived as well.)
adapted
Gallet
's text himself for the operatic version, resulting in a rather Wagnerian, through-composed structure that lacks
' usual tunefulness but has plenty of oomph.
tells the story of the death of Hercules and is ultimately based on Sophocles' play Trachiniae; the titular heroine is known as Delanira in Roman tellings. To Hercules' heroic exploits, the story (true enough, apparently) adds his messy love life, which ends with an excruciating death after he is given a tunic soaked in poisonous hydra blood. Part of the value of this release, as usual with the
Palazzetto Bru Zane
label, is the in-depth historical presentation in a handsome book; it even includes an essay by
Gabriel Fauré
describing the premiere. However, the performances are quite compelling all by themselves. Conductor
Kazuki Yamada
, leading the
Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo
, sets a brisk pace that keeps the story hurtling toward its grim conclusion, and the soloists, led by tenor
Julien Dran
as Hercules and
Kate Aldrich
as his desperate wife Déjanire, are not world-beaters but do put the drama across. The opera, like so much of
' forgotten music, was eminently worthy of revival. Now, let's do the same for the original stage version! ~ James Manheim