ROMSO Cyprus Knowledge Base

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The martyre de Saint Sébastien (The martyrdom of San Sebastiano) is a stage music composed by Claude Debussy in 1911 for the mystery written by Gabriele D'Annunzio; the work is divided into five acts plus a prologue, and is dedicated to Maurice Barrès. Narra of the martyrdom of San Sebastiano mixing sacred and profane components. The main role of St. Sebastian was played by a woman, dancer Ida Rubinštejn, while choreography was created by Michail Fokin and stage design by Léon Bakst.

Genesis of the Work
At the end of 1910 Debussy was contacted by D'Annunzio who was then in France, Arcachon, to avoid creditors. The writer wanted to work with Debussy and offered him to write music for his drama. The composer, who at the time was not engaged with any work and who was always short of finances, also accepted and signed the contract with Gabriel Astruc, director of the opera season of the Théâtre du Châtelet. The 8000 francs advance was a big incentive for Debussy to get him to start the job immediately. D'Annunzio sent his drama to the composer one piece at a time and the score was completed in record time.

After the writing of Debussy, he listened to the composition of his editor, Jacques Durand, who was favourably impressed. The martyrs predicted themselves as a grand realization, with a huge number of artists, dancers and orchestral. The evidence was not simple for the difficulties of singers to define every single role and for staging sometimes not coincident with the musical part.

Since the works of the writer were placed on the index, three days before the official representation, Debussy and D'Annunzio were forced by the Archbishop of Paris, on the request of the Roman Congregation, to declare under oath that their work was entirely based on religious foundations.

Scene and critical welcome
The martyrs first staged on May 22, 1911, at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. The duration of the entire work reaches five hours. Present at the first is also Marcel Proust, accompanied by Robert de Montesquiou-Fézensac, who will cover the production of praises. The reaction of critics is quite different, in particular against Rubenštejn, lacking in French pronunciation and so artificial in the recitation to nullify any erotic charge. Debussy's music was then more consensitive than the Danunziano text, than in many long and boring refrains; some critics judged the score too weak in comparison to the intense drama of D'Annunzio's work; as often had happened, the fact of writing on commission and in limited times certainly did not favor the creativity of the musician, on the other hand already suffering from serious health problems. The opinion of the clergy was drastic and the spokesman, Archbishop Léon-Adolphe Amette, immediately stamped the work as blasphemous.

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