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        • Jean Françaix

        • La princesse de Clèves

        • Editions Musicales Transatlantiques (World)

        Opera in four acts

        • 2.2.2.2/4.3.2.1/perc.timp/hp/str(4.3.2.2.1)
        • SATB
        • Soprano, Alto, Tenor (2), Baritone (2), Bass (2)
        • 2 hr 30 min

        Programme Note

        Mademoiselle de Chartres follows her mother's recommendation and accepts to get married with the Prince de Clèves. After the wedding, she meets the Duke de Nemours. The two fall in love. The Duke becomes enmeshed in a scandal at court that leads the Princess to believe he has been unfaithful in his affections. A letter from a spurned mistress to her paramour is discovered in the dressing room at one of the estates, a letter actually written to the Princess' uncle, the Vidame de Chartres, who has also become entangled in a relationship with the Queen. He begs the Duke de Nemours to claim ownership of the letter, which ends up in the Princess' possession. The Duke has to produce documents from the Vidame to convince the Princess that his heart has been true. The Prince de Clèves discerns that his wife is in love with another man. He relentlessly quizzes her until she reveals the man's identity, he becomes ill and dies. On his deathbed, he blames the Duke de Nemours for his suffering and begs the Princess not to marry him. The Duke pursues the Princess more openly but she rejects him. After several years, the Duke's love for her does finally fade and she passes away in obscurity.