Ariane

For the opera 'Ariane' by Jules Massenet, see here Ariane is a one-act opera by Bohuslav Martinů to a text by the composer drawn from a play by Georges Neveux, (who also supplied the text to the composer's opera Julietta). Martinů composed Ariane in 1958 whilst working on his last opera, The Greek Passion - he described it in a letter to his family as 'taking a rest' from the larger work. The composition took just over a month. The bravura style ... more

For the opera 'Ariane' by Jules Massenet, see here Ariane is a one-act opera by Bohuslav Martinů to a text by the composer drawn from a play by Georges Neveux, (who also supplied the text to the composer's opera Julietta). Martinů composed Ariane in 1958 whilst working on his last opera, The Greek Passion - he described it in a letter to his family as 'taking a rest' from the larger work. The composition took just over a month. The bravura style of the writing for Ariadne reflects Martinů's admiration of Maria Callas.The opera is in a straightforward lyrical style with deliberate references to the operas of Monteverdi and other early composers. The first performance took place in Gelsenkirchen in 1961, two years after the composer's death. The story is a surrealist version of the myth of Theseus, Ariadne, and the Minotaur. The Watchman learns of the arrival in Knossos of Thésée and his companions from a passing seagull. Thésée seeks the Minotaur and encounters Ariane. In an ambiguous... less