Thérèse is an
opera in two acts by
Jules Massenet to a French-language
libretto by
Jules Claretie. Set during the
French Revolution, the plot concerns Thérèse, who is torn between duty and affection, between her husband André Thorel, a
Girondist, and her lover, the nobleman Armand de Clerval. Although she had decided to follow her lover into exile, when her husband is being led to execution she shouts
Vive le roi! (Long live the king!) amid the frenzied crowd and is dragged to her husband's side and marched to the
guillotine. The opera first performed in
Monte Carlo in 1907, and is among Massenet's lesser-known works. This poster was produced for the 1907 Paris premiere of
Thérèse at the
Opéra-Comique, and features the mezzo-soprano
Lucy Arbell in the title role.
Poster credit: unknown; restored by Adam Cuerden