Programs · Episode

MASSENET: Thaïs

Program: At the Opera
Aired: Saturday, August 17, 2024 @ 6:00 pm
Hosted by Lisa Simeone

This intense drama by Massenet swings back and forth between devout piety, and unabashed passion. Its history includes one of big-time entertainment’s most famous “wardrobe malfunctions,” which caused a scandal at the opera’s 1894 premiere, in Paris. Thaïs also has a spectacular title role, which we’ll hear on At The Opera in recordings starring sopranos Renée Fleming and Anna Moffo.

MORE ABOUT THE OPERA

 At Super Bowl XXXVIII, in 2004, a single event at halftime is often remembered more vividly than the game itself, and something similar seemed to happen to Massenet’s opera Thaïs, at its world premiere in Paris, ninety years earlier.

If you do remember that 2004 Super Bowl, the first thing you may recall is the intermission entertainment, featuring Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake.  During that show, Jackson’s clothing was momentarily discombobulated, creating the still-famous “wardrobe malfunction.”

But, notorious as that incident became, it was hardly the first instance when a big-time cultural event was overshadowed by a meandering costume. At the premiere of Thaïs, the star attraction was the popular American soprano Sibyl Sanderson.  During one of the opera’s more licentious scenes, her costume also went astray, scandalously exposing her bosom. When resulting uproar seemingly stole the headlines, the opera itself was a casualty, and it later went on to generate more controversy.

In 1973, during a production of Thaïs in New Orleans, there was a wardrobe incident that was anything but a malfunction.  In fact, there wasn’t much wardrobe to go astray in the first place. That’s when another American soprano, Carol Neblett, did a brief nude scene in the title role – predictably gathering a whole lot of attention in the process.

So, what is it about this opera that makes it prone to that particular sort of notoriety?  After all, the story doesn’t even feature a full-fledged romance, and the male lead is a devout monk – one of the most pious characters you’d ever want to meet.

The answer is … the female lead – the beautiful Thaïs.  As the opera begins, she’s a sultry courtesan.  And while she eventually becomes a virtual saint, her initial persona makes that a truly striking transformation.

The story that inspired the opera, the legend of a courtesan-turned-saint, is an old one, first written down by a German nun in the 10th-century. When a French translation appeared 900 years later, it caught the eye of Nobel Prize winner Anatole France. He turned it into a poem, and then a book. But not without creating a stir in the process.

The author presented the story as a satire — a critique of religious extremism and hypocrisy. Not surprisingly, the Church attacked the book when it was published. Massenet avoided the issue in his opera, making the story a straightforward tale of spiritual awareness and salvation.

On At the Opera, we’ll explore Thaïs in recordings featuring two sopranos who each bring a wealth of talent to the opera’s multi-faceted title role.  In a release from the late 1990s it’s Renée Fleming, with baritone Thomas Hampson as the monk Athanaël.  We’ll also go back to 1974 to hear Anna Moffo, alongside Gabriel Bacquier.

FEATURED RECORDINGS:

Yves Abel, conductor; Bordeaux National Opera Orchestra, Bordeaux Opera Chorus
CAST:  Renée Fleming (Thaïs); Thomas Hampson (Athanaël); Giuseppe Sabbatini (Nicias); Stefano Palatchi (Palémon)
(DECCA 466766)

Julius Rudel, conductor; New Philharmonia Orchestra, Ambrosian Opera Chorus
CAST:  Anna Moffo (Thaïs); Gabriel Bacquier (Athanaël); José Carreras (Nicias); Justino Diaz (Palémon)
(RCA 88985397002)

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