Le diable dans le beffroi (The Devil in the Belfry) is an unfinished comic opera in one act by Claude Debussy to his own libretto, based on Edgar Allan Poe's short story The Devil in the Belfry.
Debussy began the piece after the success of his opera Pélléas et Mélisande in 1902 and worked on it until around 1912 but he never completed the score. He planned to make the chorus the only singing part and have the devil of the title whistle. He descri...
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Le diable dans le beffroi (The Devil in the Belfry) is an unfinished comic opera in one act by Claude Debussy to his own libretto, based on Edgar Allan Poe's short story The Devil in the Belfry.
Debussy began the piece after the success of his opera Pélléas et Mélisande in 1902 and worked on it until around 1912 but he never completed the score. He planned to make the chorus the only singing part and have the devil of the title whistle. He described his conception of the devil's character in a letter to André Messager in June, 1902:
The Devil is represented as cynical and cruel — much more devilish than the red, brimstone-breathing clown that has, so illogically, become a tradition with us. I should also like to put an end to the idea that the Devil is the spirit of evil. He is simply the spirit of contradiction; perhaps it is he who inspires those who do not think like everybody else.
Debussy's scenario for the opera is dated 25 August 1903. The composer used some musical material...
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