Hérodiade

"Hérodiade" is an opera in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Paul Milliet and Henri Grémont, based on the novella "Hérodias" by Gustave Flaubert. It was first performed at the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels on December 19, 1881.

The opera is a retelling of the story of John the Baptist, Salome, Herod Antipas and Herodias, but is strikingly less psychological and bloody than Richard Strauss's "Salome". The opera premiered in Brussels because Vaucorbeil, Manager of the Paris Opera house refused to stage the work; "I do like your music," he had said to Massenet, "but as for the libretto, you badly need an author who knows how to build the skeleton of a play."

Roles

Noted arias

*Act I - Salomé: "Il est doux, il est bon"
*Act I - Hérodiade: "Ne me refuse pas"
*Act II - Hérode: "Vision fugitive"

elected recordings

* Michel Plasson conducting the Choeur et Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse with Cheryl Studer (Salomé), Nadine Denize (Hérodiade), Ben Heppner (Jean), Thomas Hampson (Hérode), and José van Dam (Phanuel), 1995 (EMI)

References

*cite book |title=The Standard Opera Guide |last=Upton |first=George P. |coauthors=Borowski, Felix |year=1928 |publisher=Blue Ribbon Books |location=New York |pages=185-87
* [http://www.karadar.it/Librettos/massenet_herodiade.html Libretto of "Hérodiade"]