Le Martyre de saint Sébastien

  • Vox Sola ( soprano)
  • Vox coelestis (soprano )
  • Anima Sebastiani (soprano )
  • La voix de la Vierge Erigone (soprano )
  • The twins Marc and Marcel Lien (Alt or contralto )
  • Le Saint Sébastien (voice and dance role )
  • La Mère douloureuse (voice)
  • La Fille malade of Fièvres (voice)
  • L' Empereur (voice)
  • Le Préfet (voice)
  • Various choirs and other speaking roles as well as people

The Martyrdom of Saint Sébastien ( The Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian ) (L 124 ) is a work for the stage, a " mystery in five acts " with music by Claude Debussy and text by Gabriele D' Annunzio.

This monumental work was written in 1911 and premiered on 22 May this year at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. D' Annunzio designed the French text ( in 3938 verses ) for the dancer Ida Rubinstein, who should take over the role of Sebastian the Martyr. Debussy should write for this tremendous mass text some choirs, orchestral interludes and arias, for reasons of time he came (in collaboration with André Caplet ) but only about an hour's incidental music, stand against the text about four hours.

The premiere turned into a scandal, the Archbishop of Paris, Léon- Adolphe Amette, forbade all Catholics visiting the ideas because of the representation of the saint by a scantily clad Jewish and Russian wife, Ida Rubinstein. All the works of D'Annunzio were Prohibitorum Consequently placed on the Index Librorum. The reviews and the behavior of the audience were snubbed accordingly, or whether the duration bored ( over five hours).

The complete work will be performed very rarely in the original form. But also like the sentimental and long fin-de- siècle text D' Annunzio to be responsible. In concert, Debussy's music can hold its own in concert performances, however, on the one hand, on the other hand got the version for symphony orchestra "Fragments Symphoniques " by Désiré -Émile Inghelbrecht to some popularity. In a revised version of the Sing- Akademie zu Berlin in the year 2012, the Holy legend was scenic and extended in interventions of five young contemporary composers. With actress Hanna Schygulla in the role of Saint Sebastian the show in Berlin's Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church drew a lot of attention.

Outline:

1 La Cour des Lys ( The Court of Lilies )

2 La Chambre magique ( The Magic Chamber)

3 Le concile faux Dieux ( The Court of false gods )

4 Le Laurier blessé ( The Wounded Laurel Tree)

5 Le Paradis ( Paradise )

Swell

  • Gabriele D' Annunzio, Claude Debussy: The Martyrdom of Saint -Sébastien. De la création 1911 a la reprise a l' Opéra de Paris in 1957. ( Revue Musicale, Paris 1957)

Recordings

The music was with shortened intermediate texts, among other things received by:

  • 2008: Heidi Grant Murphy, Dagmar Peckova, Nathalie Stutzmann, Dorte Lyssewski, Collegium Vocale Gent ( Choir Conductor: Christoph Siebert ), SWR Symphony Orchestra Baden -Baden and Freiburg Sylvain Cambreling ( Glor Classics GC08181 )
  • Work of Claude Debussy
  • Sebastian
510772
de