ABSTRACT
Tourguéniev-Pauline Viardot-Maria Malibran 9 (1985): 109-21. ISSN 03991326.This article traces the genesis of the opera, originally entitled Dalila. The author believes that the impetus for the work came about during a time when the genre of oratorio was being cultivated and popularized by Parisian concerts and competitions for composers. Ratner offers much solid background information from primary sources on the singer and would-be first Dalila, Pauline Viardot, to whom the opera is dedicated. The author recounts the various stages of the compositional process and reconfirms some of the well-known history behind the scenes, such as Liszt’s promise sight unseen to perform it, and Viardot’s performance at Croissy of the second act in 1874. Important details of the Weimar premiere are also given and substantiated by letters held in the Saint-Saëns Museum in Dieppe. Ratner concludes the essay with an account of subsequent first performances in the nineteenth century, mentioning those in charge of the production and those singing primary roles. Gounod’s favorable reaction to the 1892 rehearsal for the Paris premiere is given in its entirety with a reproduction of his letter to Saint-Saëns found in the Bibliothèque Nationale.
