(University of Oregon, 2013-07-11) Antoinette, Alicia; Smith, Marian
The evidence found through comparing and contrasting staging manuals strongly suggests that Massenet might have been involved in the staging of his operas. Several important differences, which include the implications of the use of a chair versus a bed in the final scene, are presented through a comparison of the final duet of Massenet's Opera Thaïs in a restaging from the livret de mise en scène F-Pbh T 8 (1) with the Metropolitan Opera's 2008 production. In addition, a probable date between the premiere in 1894 and the revision in 1898 for the livret de mise en scène F-Pbh T 8 (1) is deliberated. Three staging manuals for Thaïs are examined, which were found to contain the same information, and these findings are contrasted with four staging materials for Massenet's opera Manon and several other staging materials for works by various composers.
