Louis Gallet

When the most voluptuous, sought-after courtesan in the world meets an ascetic monk whose life is devoted to God, you know erotic sparks are going to fly. And when the clash takes place in a glorious, but rarely performed, opera by Massenet, it’s a delight to the ear just as much as to the eye. Renée Fleming is every inch the glamorous Thaïs, swathed in elegant gowns designed by Christian Lacroix. Thomas Hampson is Athanaël, the tortured man of God. This production by John Cox, which premiered in December 2008, brilliantly sets the stage for a confrontation as old as civilization itself.

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The love between Sita, the priestess of the temple of Indra, and an unknown stranger, who is actually Alim the King of Lahore, is hindered by Scindia who wants to take the throne and to marry Sita. When Scindia discovers the lover's true identity, he accuses him before the high priest Timour, who condemnsns him to go into battle against the muslims. In the battle Alim is defeated, and, seriouslyy wounded, returns to Lahore where he ides in the arms of his beloved Sita. Having g risen in to the Hindu paradise and been reincarnated aim turns to Lahore just in time to witness the usurper's splendid coronation and to reveal Scindia's crimes to the entire populace, In the last act the two lovers take refuge in the temple of Indra to escape from Scindia: Sita takes her own life with a dagger thus provoking Alim's death. The two lovers will be together in the hereafter.

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