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'''Massenet Festival''' (''Festival Massenet'') is a [[wikt:biennale|biennale]] festival of |
'''Massenet Festival''' (''Festival Massenet'') is a [[wikt:biennale|biennale]] festival of music by French composer, [[Jules Massenet]] held in [[Saint-Étienne]], France, close to the area where the composer was born. The first Massenet Festival took place in November 1990 when the opera ''[[Cléopâtre]]'' and the oratorio ''[[La Vierge]]'' were presented. In recent years, performances have been given in the Grand Théâtre Massenet, one of the theatres of the Opéra Théâtre de Saint-Etienne, and formerly known as L'Esplanade. |
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==History== |
==History== |
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Appointed to run the Opéra de Saint-Etienne in 1986, [[Jean-Louis Pichon]] invited [[Jean-Pierre Jacquillat]] to become musical director. Shortly afterwards, the elderly widow of a chief electrician at the Théâtre Eden handed over a mass of rare vocal scores, which included ''[[Amadis (Massenet)|Amadis]]'' by Massenet. Intrigued, Pichon obtained a conductor's score for Jacquillat, but the conductor was killed in a road accident that August and a replacement was needed urgently. Eventually Pichon found Patrick Fournillier, then head of the Orchestre d'Auvergne. |
Appointed to run the Opéra de Saint-Etienne in 1986, [[Jean-Louis Pichon]] invited [[Jean-Pierre Jacquillat]] to become musical director. Shortly afterwards, the elderly widow of a chief electrician at the Théâtre Eden handed over a mass of rare vocal scores, which included ''[[Amadis (Massenet)|Amadis]]'' by Massenet. Intrigued, Pichon obtained a conductor's score for Jacquillat, but the conductor was killed in a road accident that August and a replacement was needed urgently. Eventually Pichon found Patrick Fournillier, then head of the Orchestre d'Auvergne.<ref name="Pichon">Laurent Bury, [http://www.forumopera.com/actu/jean-louis-pichon-je-pense-avoir-fait-evoluer-le-regard-des-gens-sur-massenet "Jean-Louis Pichon: 'Je pense avoir fait évoluer le regard des gens sur Massenet'"], Interview with Jean-Louis Pichon, 9 Nov 2011, on forumopera.com. Accessed 10 August 2014.</ref> |
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<ref>[http://www.forumopera.com/actu/jean-louis-pichon-je-pense-avoir-fait-evoluer-le-regard-des-gens-sur-massenet Forum Opera website interview with Jean-Louis Pichon by Laurent Bury, 9 Nov 2011. Jean-Louis Pichon : « Je pense avoir fait évoluer le regard des gens sur Massenet »] accessed 10 August 2014.</ref> |
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The revival of ''Amadis'' in January 1988 was a great success, broadcast by Radio-France which led to a commercial issue with the orchestra and chorus of the Opéra de Paris. As part of the bicentenary celebration of the French revolution, ''Thérèse'' was staged in 1989 in several houses, Monte-Carlo, then Saint-Etienne, (whose production was selected to represent France at the European Festival of culture in Karlsruhe), then Łodz and Zagreb.<ref name="Pichon"/> |
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| ⚫ | Following the |
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| ⚫ | Following the success of staging Massenet's ''Amadis'' in 1988 during this "unofficial" festival of his work, the organizers decided to seek funding for regular festivals; the [[Rhône-Alpes Regional Council|Région Rhône-Alpes]] and France Télécom became main sponsors and the first Festival Massenet took place in November 1990.<ref name="Pichon"/> |
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Thus initial founders of the Festival were Jean-Louis Pichon (director and principal producer) and Patrick Fournillier (musical director and conductor). |
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The Festival has occasionally incorporated a colloquy around the composer. In 1992 it was « Massenet et son œuvre dans le contexte esthétique de son temps ». Speakers in the latter included [[Roger Delage]] on Massenet and Chabrier, Steven Huebner on Wagnerism in ''Esclarmonde'', [[Hugh Macdonald (musicologist)|Hugh Macdonald]] on Massenet and the comic, and the musical language of Massenet by [[Gérard Condé]].<ref name="ASO">Colloque International ~ Massenet et son temps. Notice in: ''L’Avant-Scène Opéra 148 – Esclarmonde ~ Grisélidis.'' L’Avant-Scène Opéra, Paris 1992, {{p.|137}}.</ref> In 2001 the subject was « Le livret d’opéra au temps de Massenet » (published as a book in 2002),<ref name="Pichon"/> with topics such as the career of [[Louis Gallet]], use of [[Pierre Loti]] in the lyric theatre and Massenet's choice of operatic subjects.<ref>''Le livret d'opéra au temps de Massenet'' (in French). Publications de l'Université de Saint-Étienne, 2002. {{ISBN|2-86272-258-8}}.</ref> |
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| ⚫ | In 1992 |
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The L'Esplanade opera house in Saint-Étienne burned down (by arson) in September 1998, and the originally planned co-production of ''Le Roi de Lahore'' with the [[Opéra National de Bordeaux|Opéra de Bordeaux]] was first seen in that city before being staged in Saint-Etienne the following year in a temporary theatre on the site of the Foire-Exposition.<ref name="Pichon"/> The re-opening of the Théâtre de l’Esplanade in March 2001 featured Hérodiade (with Alexia Cousin, [[Alain Fondary]], [[Béatrice Uria-Monzon]] and Luca Lombardo), and the sixth Festival in November that year offered ''Roma'' which Pichon had already produced for Martina Franca in 1999.<ref name="Pichon"/> |
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| ⚫ | In 1992 ''[[Esclarmonde]]'' was staged (with [[Denia Mazzola|Denia Mazzola Gavazzeni]] in the title role) along with ''[[Grisélidis]]'' and the oratorio ''La Terre Promise'' (with [[Laurent Naouri]]), while the Third Massenet Festival in 1994 brought revivals of ''[[Panurge (opera)|Panurge]]'', and ''[[Le Cid (opera)|Le Cid]]''. In 2003 the 7th Festival included ''[[Sapho (Massenet)|Sapho]]'', conducted by [[Laurent Campellone]].<ref>Kasow, Joel. "Report from Saint Etienne", ''[[Opera (British magazine)|Opera]]'' (London), March 2004, Vol 55 No 3, p. 313.</ref> |
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{{col-begin}} |
{{col-begin}} |
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{{col-break}} |
{{col-break}} |
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*''[[ |
*''[[Cléopâtre]]'' and the oratorio ''[[La Vierge]]'' (1990) |
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*''Esclarmonde'', ''Grisélidis'' (concert) and the oratorio ''La Terre Promise'' (1992) |
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*''[[Le roi de Lahore]]'' (1999). |
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*''Panurge'', and ''Le Cid'' (concert) (1994) |
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*''[[Thaïs (opera)|Thaïs]]'' (1996) |
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*''[[Le roi de Lahore]]'' and ballets ''Le Carillon'', and ''Le Cid'' (ballet music) (1999) |
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{{col-break}} |
{{col-break}} |
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*''[[Le jongleur de Notre-Dame]]'' (2005), preceded by the ballet ''Le Cigale'', contemporary with the opera |
*''[[Le jongleur de Notre-Dame]]'' (2005), preceded by the ballet ''Le Cigale'', contemporary with the opera<ref>Kasow, Joel. "Report from Saint Etienne", ''Opera'' (London), March 2006, Vol 57 No 3, p. 304.</ref> |
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*''[[Ariane (Massenet)|Ariane]]'' (2007) |
*''[[Ariane (Massenet)|Ariane]]'' (2007)<ref>Jose Irurzun, [http://www.musicweb-international.com/SandH/2007/Jul-Dec07/ariane0911.htm "Massenet, ''Ariane''"], review on www.musicweb-international.com Retrieved 22 February 2013</ref> |
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*''[[Manon]]'' (2009) |
*''[[Manon]]'' (2009) |
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*''[[Cendrillon]]'' and ''[[Le mage]]'' (October/November 2012) |
*''[[Cendrillon]]'' and ''[[Le mage]]'' (October/November 2012) |
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{{col-end}} |
{{col-end}} |
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==Recordings== |
==Recordings== |
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Festival performances before 1995 were released on [[Red Book (audio CD standard)|audio CD]] (on the label Koch-Schwann) and others have followed, such as ''Thérèse'' from 2012.<ref>Andrew Clements, [ |
Festival performances before 1995 were released on [[Red Book (audio CD standard)|audio CD]] (on the label Koch-Schwann) and others have followed, such as ''Thérèse'' from 2012 (on Ediciones Singulares).<ref>Andrew Clements, [https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/jul/18/jules-massenet-therese-gubisch-review "Jules Massenet: ''Thérèse'' – review"], 13 July 2013. Accessed 27 June 2014.</ref> |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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*[http://www.festivals-ra.com/42-Loire/018_BIENNALE-MASSENET.php Massenet Festival Official Web-site] |
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20071226001140/http://www.festivals-ra.com/42-Loire/018_BIENNALE-MASSENET.php Massenet Festival Official Web-site] |
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*[ |
*[https://www.questia.com/read/1P3-50867022 Library on Massenet Festivals]{{dl|date=July 2021}} |
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{{Authority control}} |
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[[Category:Music festivals in France]] |
[[Category:Music festivals in France]] |
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Latest revision as of 14:01, 11 January 2024
Massenet Festival (Festival Massenet) is a biennale festival of music by French composer, Jules Massenet held in Saint-Étienne, France, close to the area where the composer was born. The first Massenet Festival took place in November 1990 when the opera Cléopâtre and the oratorio La Vierge were presented. In recent years, performances have been given in the Grand Théâtre Massenet, one of the theatres of the Opéra Théâtre de Saint-Etienne, and formerly known as L'Esplanade.
History[edit]
Appointed to run the Opéra de Saint-Etienne in 1986, Jean-Louis Pichon invited Jean-Pierre Jacquillat to become musical director. Shortly afterwards, the elderly widow of a chief electrician at the Théâtre Eden handed over a mass of rare vocal scores, which included Amadis by Massenet. Intrigued, Pichon obtained a conductor's score for Jacquillat, but the conductor was killed in a road accident that August and a replacement was needed urgently. Eventually Pichon found Patrick Fournillier, then head of the Orchestre d'Auvergne.[1]
The revival of Amadis in January 1988 was a great success, broadcast by Radio-France which led to a commercial issue with the orchestra and chorus of the Opéra de Paris. As part of the bicentenary celebration of the French revolution, Thérèse was staged in 1989 in several houses, Monte-Carlo, then Saint-Etienne, (whose production was selected to represent France at the European Festival of culture in Karlsruhe), then Łodz and Zagreb.[1]
Following the success of staging Massenet's Amadis in 1988 during this "unofficial" festival of his work, the organizers decided to seek funding for regular festivals; the Région Rhône-Alpes and France Télécom became main sponsors and the first Festival Massenet took place in November 1990.[1]
The Festival has occasionally incorporated a colloquy around the composer. In 1992 it was « Massenet et son œuvre dans le contexte esthétique de son temps ». Speakers in the latter included Roger Delage on Massenet and Chabrier, Steven Huebner on Wagnerism in Esclarmonde, Hugh Macdonald on Massenet and the comic, and the musical language of Massenet by Gérard Condé.[2] In 2001 the subject was « Le livret d’opéra au temps de Massenet » (published as a book in 2002),[1] with topics such as the career of Louis Gallet, use of Pierre Loti in the lyric theatre and Massenet's choice of operatic subjects.[3]
The L'Esplanade opera house in Saint-Étienne burned down (by arson) in September 1998, and the originally planned co-production of Le Roi de Lahore with the Opéra de Bordeaux was first seen in that city before being staged in Saint-Etienne the following year in a temporary theatre on the site of the Foire-Exposition.[1] The re-opening of the Théâtre de l’Esplanade in March 2001 featured Hérodiade (with Alexia Cousin, Alain Fondary, Béatrice Uria-Monzon and Luca Lombardo), and the sixth Festival in November that year offered Roma which Pichon had already produced for Martina Franca in 1999.[1]
Festival highlights[edit]
In 1992 Esclarmonde was staged (with Denia Mazzola Gavazzeni in the title role) along with Grisélidis and the oratorio La Terre Promise (with Laurent Naouri), while the Third Massenet Festival in 1994 brought revivals of Panurge, and Le Cid. In 2003 the 7th Festival included Sapho, conducted by Laurent Campellone.[4]
Over the years, the following Massenet operas have been presented:
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Recordings[edit]
Festival performances before 1995 were released on audio CD (on the label Koch-Schwann) and others have followed, such as Thérèse from 2012 (on Ediciones Singulares).[9]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f Laurent Bury, "Jean-Louis Pichon: 'Je pense avoir fait évoluer le regard des gens sur Massenet'", Interview with Jean-Louis Pichon, 9 Nov 2011, on forumopera.com. Accessed 10 August 2014.
- ^ Colloque International ~ Massenet et son temps. Notice in: L’Avant-Scène Opéra 148 – Esclarmonde ~ Grisélidis. L’Avant-Scène Opéra, Paris 1992, p. 137.
- ^ Le livret d'opéra au temps de Massenet (in French). Publications de l'Université de Saint-Étienne, 2002. ISBN 2-86272-258-8.
- ^ Kasow, Joel. "Report from Saint Etienne", Opera (London), March 2004, Vol 55 No 3, p. 313.
- ^ Kasow, Joel. "Report from Saint Etienne", Opera (London), April 2002, Vol 53 No 4, p. 438.
- ^ David Stevens "A Massenet is born again", Internatiuonal Herald Tribune (on nytimes.com), 19 November 2003. Review of the 2003 Festival
- ^ Kasow, Joel. "Report from Saint Etienne", Opera (London), March 2006, Vol 57 No 3, p. 304.
- ^ Jose Irurzun, "Massenet, Ariane", review on www.musicweb-international.com Retrieved 22 February 2013
- ^ Andrew Clements, "Jules Massenet: Thérèse – review", 13 July 2013. Accessed 27 June 2014.