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28-412: Cléopâtre is one of three operas by Massenet to be premiered posthumously; the others are Panurge (1913) and Amadis (1922). The piece has seen limited revival since its premiere and has a modest modern recording history. Though the opera was written for the mezzo Lucy Arbell , the role of Cléopâtre was created by the soprano Maria Nikolaevna Kuznetsova . The Chicago Opera Association presented

56-406: A dry goods market for centuries, but food stalls soon grew up around the main buildings and by the 15th century food prices at les Halles were being cited as significant for the whole city. The market would have ups and downs over the coming centuries and was rebuilt more than once. Over time, an increasing number of halls were built explicitly for food, but the dry goods market remained central to

84-524: A large undulating glass canopy covering the redesigned Forum. STIF and RATP began plans for the remodeling of the Châtelet-Les-Halles station in 2007, and the following year Berger and Anziutti were awarded a contract for redesign of the station. The station redesign included new entrances on Rue Berger, Rue Rambuteau, and Place Marguerite de Navarre, an expanded RER concourse, and improved pedestrian circulation. Construction began in 2010 on

112-699: A priestess and oracle of Bacchus, tells the Queen of the Lanternois how she misses her husband. Panurge arrives, looking for his wife; Queen Baguenaude invites him to rest awhile and consult the oracle of Bacchus. Colombe prepares to assume the part of Sibyl, while Panurge offers to make a sacrifice of a lamb. He rejects the price demanded and tosses the lamb into the sea, after which the shepherd and locals dive in to rescue it. The Sibyl now enters and answers Panurge's enquiries, saying that he will find his wife when he drinks less and stops beating her. Jean, Pantagruel and

140-460: Is spurned by Ribaude who knows that he is married. Colombe sits at Pantagruel's table and makes confession to Panurge disguised as a monk, of all her transgressions. Panurge cannot contain his jealousy and tells her that he knows the husband, who has fled to the Ile des Lanternes. Colombe says that she will pursue him and leaves, while in a fury Panurge breaks everything at the tables. Colombe, dressed as

168-410: Is then brought to Cléopâtre. As she watches him die by her side, she pulls a poisonous snake from a basket of fruit and clutches it to her breast. Notes Panurge (opera) Panurge is an opera (titled 'Haulte farce musicale') in three acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Georges Spitzmuller and Maurice Boukay , after Pantagruel by Rabelais . It was first performed at

196-655: The Théâtre de la Gaîté in Paris on 25 April 1913, nearly a year after Massenet's death, one of three operas by the composer to have premiered posthumously, the others being Cléopâtre (1914) and Amadis (1922). It is one of Massenet's least known operas, but was revived at the Massenet Festival in St. Etienne in 1994 under conductor Patrick Fournillier . Harding quotes a reaction of Alfred Bruneau who declared that

224-471: The (increasingly cramped) space. The church of Saint-Eustache was constructed in the 16th century. The circular Halle aux Blés (Corn Exchange), designed by Nicolas Le Camus de Mézières , was built between 1763 and 1769 at the west end of Les Halles. Its circular central court was later covered with a dome, and it was converted into the Bourse de Commerce in 1889. In the 1850s, Victor Baltard designed

252-481: The 1980s design with a simplified pattern of east–west pedestrian promenades and a large central lawn, was selected. The plan also included extending the pedestrianized area further east to include all the streets bordering the gardens. Another competition was held for the redesign of the Forum. Ten teams submitted plans, and the proposal by Patrick Berger and Jacques Anziutti was selected in 2007. Their design included

280-467: The Abbaye de Thélème, Thelemites and Ribaude greet the morning. When the crowd has left, Panurge enters, pleased with such a congenial refuge and makes advances to Ribaude. Pantagruel arrives with his followers and Jean welcomes as an old friend, describing the customs of the monastery, where there is no Lent and monks pray to Bacchus and nuns to Venus. Colombe also now enters, having followed her husband to

308-451: The City of Paris would begin public consultations regarding the remodeling of the area, calling Les Halles "a soulless, architecturally bombastic concrete jungle". A design competition for the Forum and gardens was held, with entries from Jean Nouvel , Winy Maas , David Mangin , and Rem Koolhaas . Mangin's design for the gardens, which proposed replacing the landscaped mounds and paths of

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336-524: The Paris suburb of Nogent-sur-Marne , the other in Yokohama , Japan, and the rest were destroyed. The site was chosen to host the station Châtelet–Les-Halles , the point of convergence of the RER , a new network of express underground railway lines through the city. Three lines leading out of the city to the south, east and west were to be extended and connected in the new underground station. For several years,

364-464: The abbey, and meets Ribaude who lets her know that Panurge was courting her only just before. A large meal is prepared in the courtyard by the servants; instead of saying grace, Pantagruel only praises the vine. Panurge wonders whether he should remarry as he can't recall his former wife, and asks for counsel from the philosopher Brid'oye, the poet Raminagrobis and the physician Rondibilis. When Ribaude re-enters Panurge tries to flirt with her again, but

392-462: The east end of the site on 4 September 1979 in the presence of the Mayor of Paris Jacques Chirac . A public garden covering 4 hectares (9.9 acres) opened in 1986. Many of the surrounding streets were pedestrianized. The demolition of Baltard's market hall structure and the design of the spaces that replaced it proved highly controversial over the subsequent decades. The critic Oliver Wainwright called

420-401: The famous glass and iron structure which would house les Halles for over a century and became one of the sights of Paris; this would last until the 1970s. Having become entirely a food market, the remodeled market was known as the "Belly of Paris", as Émile Zola called it in his 1873 novel Le Ventre de Paris , which is set in the busy marketplace of the 19th century. Unable to compete in

448-553: The first American performance on 10 January 1916 with Kuznetsova. The first New York performance was on 23 January 1919 with Mary Garden . It was revived at the Massenet Festival in Saint-Étienne in 1990 conducted by Patrick Fournillier with Kathryn Harries in the title role. This production yielded a live recording (on two CDs) issued by Koch Schwann . New York saw a revival of Cléopâtre on June 26, 1997 by Opera Manhattan at Alice Tully Hall with Marion Capriotti in

476-405: The followers next arrive by boat. Colombe, having taken off the disguise, joins her husband and calls for wine; the Queen reminds Panurge of his oath. All raise their cups in rejoicing as the curtain falls. Notes Sources Les Halles Les Halles ( French pronunciation: [le al] ; 'The Halls') was Paris ' central fresh food market. It last operated on 12 January 1973 and

504-504: The ill-fated love of Cléopâtre and Marc-Antoine . Marc-Antoine sees Cléopâtre for the first time following the conquering of Egypt and is instantly entranced by her beauty. Dismissing his obligations in Rome, Marc-Antoine goes with Cléopâtre, and even after returning to fulfill his promise of marriage to Octavia, he is lured back by lust and jealousy. Being told, falsely, that Cléopâtre has been killed, Marc-Antoine falls on his own sword and

532-750: The libretto was not suited to Massenet's temperament and demanded music not of a Massenet, but of a Chabrier . A crowd of townspeople have gathered outside the tavern of Alcofibras, the 'Hostellerie du Coq à l’Asne' in Les Halles , on Mardi Gras . Pantagruel and his squires order wine. Panurge has entered and Pantagruel beckons the hungry newcomer to join his party. Panurge addresses his host in Italian, German, and finally French. Panurge claims that he has lost his wife, Colombe, that very morning and can't decide whether to laugh or cry. The others encourage him to drown his sorrows in wine. Once everyone has entered

560-440: The market and built two market halls —  halles  — to protect the textiles. He also built walls around the market, including land which had recently been confiscated from exiled Jews that originally belonged to the church. When he then built walls around the city, these embraced the market, which quickly became the city's largest (and, over time, went from being at the edge of the city to at its center). Officially, it would remain

588-487: The massive RER and métro transit hub of Châtelet–Les Halles , Paris's busiest station. In the 11th century, a market grew up by a cemetery to the northwest of Paris in an area called the Little Fields ( Champeaux ). This was mainly a dry goods and money changing market. A bishop briefly took control of the market before sharing control with Louis VI in 1137. In 1183, Philip Augustus took full control of

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616-456: The new market economy and in need of massive repairs, the colourful ambience once associated with the bustling area of merchant stalls disappeared in 1973, when Les Halles was demolished (fruit, flower and vegetable markets had moved in 1969, and only the butchers at the meat markets remained); the wholesale market was relocated to the suburb of Rungis . Two of the glass and cast iron market pavilions were dismantled and re-erected elsewhere; one in

644-517: The opera as "enjoyable, emotionally vigorous Massenet in his grand opera manner", and noted that "by this stage of his career (1912) the composer wasted little time with grand opera trappings - he gets through the plot (including obligatory ballet) in under two hours", while pointing out "the simplicity, the superb word-setting impress the most, as well as the clarity with which he delineates the opposing sound-worlds - sinuous chromaticism for Egypt, near- Elgarian noblesse for Rome". The story concerns

672-470: The razing "one of the worst acts of urban vandalism of the century", and that the place became a "national embarrassment" with the park "a magnet for drug dealing". Historian Donato Severo called the events "the most violent act ever committed against the heritage of Paris", with architect Lloyd Alter adding that the replacement complex was "nearly universally reviled for its mean spirit". Against that background, in 2002 Mayor Bertrand Delanoë announced that

700-430: The site of the markets was an enormous open pit, nicknamed le trou des Halles ("the hole of Les Halles"), regarded as an eyesore at the foot of the historic church of Saint-Eustache . The construction on Paris's new central railway hub was completed in 1977. The Forum des Halles , a partially underground multiple story commercial and shopping centre, designed by Claude Vasconi and Georges Pencreac'h, opened at

728-419: The tavern, Colombe herself comes along and hears the voice of her husband; she explains that she feigned death to escape his drunken behaviour. She calls on him to come out and presents herself to him but he says that he does not recognize her. Enraged, Colombe is held by Pantagruel's squires, while Panuge escapes with Pantagruel to a monastery where he can hide from his wife. At daybreak in the main courtyard of

756-629: The title role (having filled in for Florence Quivar at the last minute), conducted by Gabriel Guimarães. In 2004, a concert version was performed at the Liceu in Barcelona with Montserrat Caballé . A concert performance conducted by Vladimir Fedoseyev as part of the Salzburg Whitsun Festival 2012 featured Sophie Koch in the title role, Ludovic Tézier as Marc-Antoine and Véronique Gens as Octavie. Rodney Milnes described

784-521: Was replaced by an underground shopping centre and a park. The unpopular modernist development was demolished yet again in 2010, and replaced by the Westfield Forum des Halles , a modern shopping mall built largely underground and topped by an undulating 2.5 hectare canopy. The mall sees around 50 million visitors every year, making it the busiest in France as of 2019. It is directly connected to

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