5 The little house at Ville-d'Avray The long prelude to this act is titled "Solitude". Fanny is alone in the country lodging they previously shared and is about to leave, when Jean returns. She asks him to go again, but he will not have it, and says he is now ready to sacrifice all that life may hold for him. She promises to stay, but as he falls asleep in his chair, though convinced of his sincerity, she steals away and leaves him. Recordings There are at least three recordings of the complete opera. A recording of a "live performance, London, September 1973" (released on LP c. 1974 by MRF Records, and on CD in 2005 on the Opera D'Oro label) features Milla Andrew as Sapho. A studio recording (released on LP in 1978 by EMI/Pathé Marconi and distributed in the US under the Peters International label; now available on CD) stars Renée Doria as Sapho. David L. Kirk, writing in Fanfare magazine says of the Opera D'Oro recording that "there are no distracting stage or audience noises. I suspect this CD is made from LP records because some surface noise is faintly audible. It is in stereo and the sound is okay." He also says the quality of the two performances is fairly equal, but the sound of the EMI recording is superior. The Wexford Festival performance is also available on CD. 1973: Milla Andrew (Fanny Legrand); Alexander Oliver (Jean Gaussin); George MacPherson (Césaire); Jenny Hill (Irène); Laura Sarti (Divonne); BBC Orchestra & Chorus; Bernard Keefe (conductor); Opera D’Oro OPD7015 (2 CDs: 125:20 ); recorded live in London in September 1973; released in 2005 at two quality levels: in the higher-priced "Grand Tier" format the packaging includes a booklet with notes and the complete libretto. Listings at WorldCat. 1978: Renée Doria (Fanny Legrand); Ginès Sirera (Jean Gaussin); Gisele Ory (Divonne); Adrien Legros (Césaire); Elya Waisman (Irène); René Gamboa (Caoudal); Christian Baudean (La Bordérie); Jean-Jacques Doumene (The restaurant keeper); Orchestre Symphonique de la Garde Républicaine; Roger Boutry (conductor); CDRG 103 (2 CDs: 129:28); no release date; CD includes booklet with notes, but no libretto. The LP version includes the French libretto. Listings at WorldCat. 2001: Giuseppina Piunti (Fanny Legrand); Brandon Jovanovich (Jean Gaussin); Agata Bienkowska (Divonne); Massimiliano Gagliardo (Césaire); Ermonela Jaho (Irène); Luca Salsi (Caoudal); Angel Pazos (La Bordérie); Nicolas Courjal (The restaurant keeper); Wexford Festival Opera Chorus; National Philharmonic Orchestra of Belarus; Jean-Pierre Tingaud (conductor); Fonè CD/SACD 023 (2 CDs: 124 minutes); notes and synopsis included. Listings at WorldCat. List of productions References Notes Sources Harding, James (1970). Massenet. New York: Saint Martin's Press. Editions and formats at WorldCat. Holden, Amanda, editor (2001). The New Penguin Opera Guide. London: Penguin Books. (paperback). Kirk, David L. (2005). Review of the recording of Massenet's Sapho on Opera D'Oro OPD7015 (2 CDs). Fanfare, vol. 29, no. 2 (Nov/Dec 2005). View online at FanfareArchive.com; retrieved 30 March 2012, subscription required. Loewenberg, Alfred (1978). Annals of Opera 1597–1940 (third edition, revised). Totowa, New Jersey: Rowman and Littlefield. . Macdonald, Hugh (2001). "Jules Massenet" in Holden 2001, pp. 342–354. Milnes, Rodney (1992). "Sapho (ii)" in Sadie 1992, vol. 4, pp. 176–177. Sadie, Stanley, editor (1992). The New Grove Dictionary of Opera (4 volumes). London: Macmillan. . Schonberg, Harold C. (25 January 1979). "Opera: Massenet 'Sapho'; Out of the Past". The New York Times. Wild, Nicole; Charlton, David (2005). Théâtre de l'Opéra-Comique Paris: répertoire 1762–1972. Sprimont, Belgium: Editions Mardaga. . Wolff, Stéphane (1953). Un demi-siècle d'Opéra-Comique (1900–1950). Paris: André Bonne. External links Category:Operas by Jules Massenet Category:French-language operas Category:Operas Category:1897 operas Category:Opera world premieres at the