THAÏS
Comédie lyrique en 3 actes et 7 tableaux
Composer : Jules Massenet (1842–1912)
Libretto : Louis Gallet, after Anatole France’s novel (1890)
First performance : Opéra Garnier, Paris, 16 March 1894 ; revised 13 April 1898

SETTING : Alexandria and surroundings, 4th century AD

PLOT: The Coenobite monk Athanaël converts the courtesan Thaïs but falls in love with her. She dies as a saint, while he succumbs to lust and falls in despair at her feet.

No. 10 – Duo de l’Oasis: ‘Baigne d’eau tes mains et tes lèvres’
Athanaël has led Thaïs, now converted, through the desert on their way to a nunnery. They stop at an oasis, where he gives the exhausted woman fruits and water.

Thaïs, comédienne et courtisane / actress and courtesan (soprano) : Renée Fleming
Athanaël, Cénobite / Coenobite (baritone) : Thomas Hampson

Conductor : Yves Abel
Orchestra National Bordeaux Aquitaine
Bordeaux, 1997–1998

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