Thérèse

Opera by Massenet (libretto by J Claretie), produced in Monte Carlo, on 7 February 1907. The story concerns Thérèse, who, torn between her husband André and her former love Armand, decides to run away with Armand until André is captured by revolutionaries. She decides to join him at the guillotine.

Opera by John Tavener (libretto by G McLarnon), composed 1973-76 and produced at Covent Garden, London, on 1 October 1979 (conducted by Downes). In the story, the poet Rimbaud guides the spiritual growth of St Thérèse of Lisieux, as she experiences various 20th-century horrors.