Mythologies

Gabriel Fauré’s La Naissance de Vénus was praised by the weekly music journal Le Ménestrel, at the time of its premiere with piano at the Salle Érard in 1883, for its ‘extremely poetic colouring’. It is presented in this programme together with Diane, a ‘poème antique’ by Benjamin Godard (1880) and Hylas, a scène lyrique by Théodore Dubois (1890). Venus, Diana and Hylas: three legendary characters who, over the centuries, have never ceased to inspire composers and librettists.