What’s the plural of opus? Definitely not the lumpy ‘opuses’ or the abhorrent ‘opi’; it’s ‘opera’, of course!
… And opera and stage works in general (i.e. ballet) are subjects we’ve not really touched on thus far. But to leave out theatre from the French music of the Belle Époque would be a gross omission, since opera and ballets were the main form of (mostly Parisian) musical entertainment.
Édouard Lalo: Le roi d’Ys
Lalo never quite achieved the success of the other two of this week’s composers. He suffered from being thought of as too Wagnerian. Listen to the overture and an aria from his sole opera Le roi d’Ys [The king of Ys] and judge for yourselves:
You can listen to the whole opera here
Jules Massenet: Manon
The opera composer of the era with more than thirty works in the genre to his name, of which Werther and Manon are the most frequently performed:
Act I: 0:20
Act II: 36:50
Act III Scene 1 : 1:05:31 Scene 2 : 1:33:38
Act IV: 1:57:04
Act V: 2:16:46
Léo Delibes: Lakmé & Sylvia
Most famous for his ballets (Coppélia; Sylvia) and the one opera that has remained in the repertoire, Lakmé, Delibes is credited (even by Tchaikovsky!) with elevating ballet into a true art form with Sylvia in particular being singled out as one of the best examples of the period’s ballet scores.
Act I 0:31
Act II 50:00
Act III 1:39:19
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The Art of Listening 