ABSTRACT
Full of admiration for Cocteau's 'lucid, well-constructed text', Poulenc was careful not to alter the fundamental balance of the work. Cocteau was not mistaken when, after hearing the composer's version, he described it as 'a work that has passed through Poulenc', adding: 'it is always very touching to see a work moving on, passing through other organisms than one's own'. Poulenc's protagonist is quieter, more modest, less hysterical, less unbearable, and thereby probably more touching than Cocteau's. The orchestra in fact ensures the continuity of the musical discourse which is vocally very fragmented, restoring the balance where necessary and providing a certain unity of sound, since, as the composer explains, 'the entire work should be bathed in the greatest orchestral sensuality'. Cocteau has therefore not varied in his dramatic conception, and the fact that the staging of the play is compatible almost to the word with the lyric tragedy is further proof of Poulenc's fidelity to the original work.
