Poulenc: Les Mamelles de Tiresias (Brilliant Opera Collection) [CD de audio] Nieuw Ensemble Opera Trionfo, Ed Spanjaard, Poulenc

Poulenc's rare and remarkably comic opera 'The Breasts of Tiresias' was created in the dark times of the German occupation of France. However, its premiere was not until 1947 at the Opéra Comique and it was a great success. The libretto comes from the composer himself and is based on the play of the same name by Guillaume Apollinaire from 1903. He was the theatrical poet who coined the term 'surrealism'. And both the script and the play of 'Las mamas de Tiresias' are profound surrealisms. The plot concerns the legend of the blind seer Tiresias, who wishes to be a woman to experience what life and love are like for men and women. Apollinaire transforms the story and turns Tiresias into Madame Thérèse, who becomes a man, and her husband into a woman. And suddenly she gives birth to 40,049 children in one day. The ambiguous work with many frivolous allusions fits well in the erotic post-war Paris, when people want to regain their joie de vivre in every possible way. The opera is rarely performed, and the last time in good quality was in 2002 at the Met in New York. This recording complements the catalog with a work worth listening to that deserves more attention.