Itzhak Perlman - J. Massenet “Thais“ Meditation

Jules Massenet “Thaïs“ Meditation Itzhak Perlman - Violin Lawrence Foster - Conductor The Abbey Road Ensemble Photography and filming by myself at Praia da Rocha, Algarve, Portugal -Méditation (Thaïs)- Méditation is a symphonic intermezzo from the opera Thaïs by French composer Jules Massenet. The piece is written for solo violin and orchestra. The opera was first premiered at the Opéra Garnier in Paris on March 16, 1894. The Méditation is a symphonic entr’acte performed between the scenes of Act II in the opera Thaïs. In the first scene of Act II, Athanaël, a Cenobite monk, confronts Thaïs, a beautiful and hedonistic courtesan and devotée of Venus, and attempts to convince her to leave her life of luxury and pleasure and find salvation through God. It is during a time of reflection following the encounter that the Méditation is played by the orchestra. In the second scene of Act II, following the Médi