Saint François d'Assise
| Saint François d'Assise | |
|---|---|
| Opera by Olivier Messiaen | |
Giotto: Legend of St Francis, Sermon to the Birds
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| Librettist | Messiaen |
| Language | French |
| Based on | Francis of Assisi |
| Premiere | 28 November 1983 Palais Garnier, Paris |
Saint François d'Assise is an opera in three acts and eight scenes by French composer and librettist Olivier Messiaen, written from 1975 to 1983. It concerns Saint Francis of Assisi, the title character, and displays the composer's devout Catholicism. The world première was given by the Paris Opera at the Palais Garnier on 28 November 1983.
Despite his studies of Mozart and Wagner operas, Messiaen thought he would never compose an opera. When Rolf Liebermann, general manager of the Paris Opera, commissioned an opera from Messiaen in 1971 the composer refused. Messiaen changed his mind when Liebermann arranged that he be a guest at a dinner at the Elysée Palace, hosted by then French President Georges Pompidou; at the end of the dinner Pompidou said: "Messiaen, you will write an opera for the Opéra de Paris!". In searching for subject matter, Messiaen pondered dramatizing either Christ's Passion or his Resurrection. Feeling unworthy of either subject, he eventually chose to dramatize the life of Saint Francis of Assisi, which paralleled Christ's chastity, humility, poverty, and suffering.
The process of writing the opera took its toll on the composer. Initially, Messiaen set to work and he made rapid progress as it became the sole object of his musical attention. By 1977 he contacted the general manager of the Paris National Opera to say he was ready to play through an unorchestrated version of the opera. Messiaen could not envisage orchestrating the opera by 1980, and adding to the pressure on Messiaen, there was a leak on the radio that he was writing an opera about Saint Francis. This revelation transgressed Messiaen's normal practice of secrecy when composing.
Messiaen appealed for a deadline extension in 1979. The new date was agreed to be 1983; however, Messiaen's health was now beginning to deteriorate. In 1981 he had several periods of ill-health, and Messiaen once again doubted that he would finish according to plan. Messiaen began to suffer from depressions, and by December 1981 he felt unable to go on. However, his doctor advised him to take daily walks to increase his wellbeing and he began to attend evening mass at the Sacre Coeur. This encouraged Messiaen to go on and complete the work, though by completion it had left its mark and he was still convinced it would be his last.
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