What is "esclarmonde"

Esclarmonde is an opéra in four acts and eight tableaux, with prologue and epilogue, by Jules Massenet, to a French libretto by Alfred Blau and Louis Ferdinand de Gramont.

It was first performed on May 15, 1889 by the Opéra-Comique at the Théâtre Lyrique on the Place du Châtelet in Paris with American soprano Sibyl Sanderson in the title role in her professional debut. The original costumes were by Charles Bianchini, the sets by Antoine Lavastre and Eugène Carpezat, and Amable and Eugène Gardy.

Esclarmonde is perhaps Massenet's most ambitious work for the stage and is his most Wagnerian in style and scope. In orchestral coloring and structure of melody, however, it is French to the core. The opera has been revived sporadically in the modern era, most notably during the 1970s with Joan Sutherland, conducted by Massenet champion Richard Bonynge. The role of Esclarmonde is notoriously difficult to sing, with stratospheric coloratura passages that are possible for only the most gifted of performers.