This week we have two early one act operas by Claude Debussy, "L'enfant prodigue", "The Prodigal Son" and "La damozel elue", "The Blessed Damozel".
The prodigal son, Azael, becomes an outcast after leaving his home to pursue life's more decadent pleasures. He eventually returns to his parents who lovingly welcome him home with forgiveness.
The libretto is by Edouard Guinand and the work dates from 1884, when Debussy was 25, and it one him the Prix de Rome for that year.
Five years later, Debussy composed "The Blessed Damozel" from a libretto by Gabriel Sarrazin which is based on Dante Gabriel Rossetti's 1847 poem "The Blessed Damozel", about a young woman who cannot enjoy heaven while her lover is still on earth.
Jesse Norman, Jose Carreras and Dietrich Fischer Dieskau are featured in "The Prodigal Son", and Ileana Cotrubas in "The Blessed Damozel". Gary Bertini conducts The Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra in both works.