Catalogue of works
Le Martyre de saint Sébastien 130/(124)
Mystère in 5 actes and 5 mansions
I. La Cour des lys
II. La Chambre magique
III. Le Concile des faux dieux
IV. Le Laurier blessé
V. Le Paradis
Text:
Gabriele D'Annunzio
Composition dates:
February - May 1911
Publication:
Durand, December 1911; fragments symphoniques, Durand, 1912
Nomenclature:
4.3.4.4 — 6.4.3.1 — timp. - perc. - cél. - 3 harps — strings
First hearing:
Paris, 22 May 1911, Théâtre du Châtelet, under the direction of André Caplet, with Ida Rubinstein, scenery and costumes by Léon Bakst, directed by Armand Bour, choreography by Michel Fokine, Marcel Chadeigne and Émile Vuillermoz Voice conductors, Désiré-Émile Inghelbrecht Chorus Master
Comments:
Debussy was under time pressure to compose this work, for which D'Annunzio did not give him the definitive libretto until February 1911 even though the first rehearsals began in the following April. André Caplet scored the orchestration. After, Debussy planned to transform Le Martyre into drame lyrique with the help of Louis Laloy, but no musical trace remains.