THE THÉRÈSE PROJECT PRESENTS:

Thérèse

A Music Drama in Two Acts

Music by Jules Massenet

Libretto by Jules Claretie

 

November 10, 2013 @ 3:00 PM

 

Brentwood Presbyterian Church

1200 San Vicente Blvd

Los Angeles, CA 90049

FREE ADMISSION

A few days ago I was thrilled to receive this delightful and unexpected bit of fan mail:

"...My wife and I were very lucky, I think it was back in April, when the [Pasadena City College] play we were going to attend was sold out of tickets when we got there.  This has happened before, and knowing that there are often multiple things going on somewhere on
campus, we keep our eyes open for other venues where people are coming and going
in and out of.  We went into Harbeson Hall, apparently just after Thérèse started, and were handed a program.  Wonderful piano and singing quickly grabbed our attention...  We had a chance to read a bit of the program and understand what the opera was, the story, and the singers.  The entire opera was just wonderful, the piano [accompaniment] seemed so appropriate... and you vocalists were magnificent.  The story was captivating and I loved Massenet's music.  Needless to say, it was a memorable and wonderful evening.  What an honor to be at the West Coast premiere and an excellent one indeed."

Rex Mayreis, Altadena
    
Thank you, Rex!  Your email made my day!

Thérèse and the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon

If you've only recently heard about Massenet's little-known operatic gem Thérèse for the first time, chances are you will probably hear about it with some frequency afterwards.  The Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon, which ensures that our pattern-searching brains repeatedly encounter newly learned information such as new words or, in this case, new operas, was hard at work this weekend when baritone Aaron Ball (Morel in Thérèse) happened across an original world premiere recording of the opera on vinyl in a San Fernando Valley record shop.  To add to Mr. Ball's surprise, it was shelved next to another underproduced Massenet opera, La Naverraise.  Synchronicity?  Destiny? Mere coincidence?  You decide.

Baritone Aaron Ball with his Massenet finds

SYNOPSIS

Act I: October, 1792. Clagny, near Versailles, France.

Inspired by true events, the opera is set during the time of the French Revolution. To escape the wrath of the Revolution, The Marquis de Clerval, Armand, has fled France. His childhood friend, André, the son of the steward of the Clerval castle and now a Girondist Representative, has bought the chateau at an auction in order to be able to restore it to its rightful owner, Armand, after the Revolution. Unbeknownst to him, André’s young wife, Thérèse, and his friend Armand are in love.

Watching the soldiers go off to war, Thérèse tells André that because of his political activities and duties as a Girondist Representative, she is often left alone and fears that one day he may fall victim to the rage of the revolutionaries. She dreads returning to Paris and wishes they could get away from the growing fury of the Revolution. Sensing that there might be something else that is making her so anxious, André asks his wife if her heart belongs to him entirely. Thérèse responds defensively that she would not be so ungrateful as to not love him: after all, she was once a penniless orphan, and thanks to him she is now the wife of a Girondist, a representative. Her duty, she tells him, is to ensure his happiness. André responds that she is the very essence of his happiness and that his two hopes are to die for his country or live beside Thérèse.

Left alone, Thérèse muses that she venerates the good, kind and devoted André, but she is still in love with Armand. She recalls their last meeting – the previous summer, at that very place – where they bid each other farewell before he fled France.

Armand has returned to France, driven by his sense of duty to join the ranks of those defending their Catholic faith at Vendée.  On his way there he returns to the chateau and, alone with Thérèse, tries to rekindle their former love. She rebuffs him, telling him that she owes everything to her husband André, and her duty is to be by his side. Armand is almost recognized by the revolutionaries, but André vouches for him and offers him asylum under his roof.

Act II: June, 1793. Paris, France.

A few months later, the situation has become much worse. King Louis XVI has been executed five months prior and the Girondists are falling out of favor. Every day, more people are tried by the Revolutionary Tribunal and sentenced to death. Thérèse bemoans the fact that they are surrounded by cries of hatred rising up from the street below and wishes they could be far away. Sensing that she is concerned for Armand's safety, André tries to calm her down by saying that no one would suspect him, a representative, to be hiding a nobleman in his home. Yes, it is dangerous, he says, but he has a duty to protect his friend. He has secured a letter of safe conduct for Armand, with which he will be able to leave France. André tells Thérèse that once Armand is safe, the two of them will be able to move out to the peaceful countryside and live in bliss.


At this moment their friend Morel enters with terrible news: the growing wrath of the mob below has turned towards the Girondists. André feels that it is his duty to be alongside his comrades. Before leaving, he tells Armand that he may not be able to protect him for much longer and has arranged for him to leave the country. Sensing that he may never see them again, he bids his friend and Thérèse farewell and goes down to the street to join the Girondists. 

Thérèse urges Armand to leave immediately, but he refuses to leave without her.  Armand tries to persuade Thérèse to flee with him. After some hesitation, Thérèse finally agrees, but at this moment Morel enters and tells them that André has been arrested and is being led to the Conciergerie, where the condemned to spend their last days before their execution. Thérèse persuades Armand to leave first and promises to meet him later and then flee the country. 

Left alone, she watches André as he is being carted off to prison. Torn between her love for Armand and her sense of duty towards André, she finally makes a fateful decision - she leans out the window and screams "Long Live the King!" The enraged revolutionaries rush in and arrest her. Thérèse is reunited with her husband, and the two are carted away to await their execution.

Our 6/8 performance in Glendale was a smashing success!  We played to a full house and received a standing ovation.  Audiences love Thérèse!




Owen Lovejoy, tenor; Aaron Ball, baritone; Aram Barsamian, baritone; Jennifer Wallace, mezzo-soprano



Baritone Aaron Ball as Morel

 Aram Barsamian as Andre and Jennifer Wallace as Thérèse

Aaron Ball as Morel and Jennifer Wallace as Thérèse

The dramatic finale

Baritone Aaron Ball Featured on Barihunks Blog

Baritone Aaron Ball, who sings the role of Morel in Thérèse, was recently featured on the Barihunks blog.  Read about him (and the upcoming performance of Thérèse in Riverside, CA) here:

Aaron Ball on Barihunks

"Thérèse" at the Hole Memorial Auditorium in Riverside, CA

Hole Memorial Auditorium at La Sierra University