A conversation with Katherine M. Carter and Louis Lohraseb, stage director and conductor of Sarasota Opera’s production of Jules Massenet’s Thérèse By Marina Harss
Who among us can claim to have seen Jules Massenet’s opera Thérèse performed in a theater? The answer is, almost no one. The two-act opera, set during the period just before the French Revolution’s Reign of Terror, premiered in Monte Carlo in 1907, with a cast that included the French mezzo-soprano Lucy Arbell and the great French tenor Edmont Clément. And though it was a success at the time of its premiere, Thérèse never achieved the popularity of Massenet’s far more famous Werther and Manon, or even of the lesser-known Thaïs. And yet the libretto, by Jules Claretie, is deeply poetic, the plot poignant. Massenet’s music alternates between the ardent intensity of the exchanges between its three protagonists and the menacing sounds of the Revolution. This brief work in two acts, lasting just 70 minutes, is the story of a woman, Thérèse, torn between two loves. Her husband, André Thorel, is a revolutionary leader. The love of her youth, Armand de Clerval, is a nobleman who has lost everything, and whose life is in danger. To make matters worse, the two men are childhood friends. I recently spoke with the stage director and conductor of the upcoming production of Thérèse for Sarasota Opera, Katherine M. Carter and Louis Lohraseb. This will be Carter’s second time in Sarasota, after directing Le Pêcheur de Perles in March of 2022, and it will be Lohraseb’s company début. We spoke about love triangles, the ways in which love and political upheaval intersect, and why Thérèse isn’t better known. So, had either of you had any experience with the opera Thérèse before now? Katherine: A very short answer—no. Louis: I have loved opera since I was two and a half years old and I had never heard of this opera in my entire life.