Kassya is a French-language opera in 4 acts and 5 tableaux by Léo Delibes to a libretto by Henri Meilhac and Philippe Gille after a novella by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch. Unfinished on Delibes' death in 1891, it was completed and orchestrated by Jules Massenet in 1893.Kassya, l’opéra inachevé de Léo Delibes, au festival de Montpellier By Marguerite Haladjian, 27 July 2018 "Une découverte promise parmi d’autres heureuses surprises aura été la création de Kassya, le dernier opéra inachevé de Léo Delibes (1836–1891), donné en version de concert samedi 21 juillet à l’Opéra Berlioz."
The opera was premiered at the Opéra-Comique, Paris, on 24 March 1893, with the following cast:
Sonia – Cécile Simonnet Kassya – Mme De Nuovina La Bohémienne – Mlle Elven Nidda – Mlle Delorn Lacka – Mlle Robert Cyrille – M. Gibert Le comte de Zévale – Gabriel Soulacroix Kotska – M. Lorrain Kolénati – M. Challet Mockou – M. Bernaert Un sergent – M. Artus Yahn – M. Troy Source: Les Annales du théâtre et de la musique, 1893.Noël and Stoullig, p. 108
The opera was respectfully received, but the general view was that it showed the composer's creative gifts in decline."The Drama in Paris", The Era, 1 April 1893, p. 9Noël and Stoullig, pp. 110–111 It ran for twelve performances. Noël and Stoullig, p. 138 A modern critic considered that the libretto was weak, but the last two acts, with the stamp of Massenet most in evidence, are the best, with the ballet full of Hungarian colour.Laurent, François. Retour d'une bohemienne - Kassya de Delibes. Diapason, no.671, September 2018, p60.
The work was performed in concert in July 2018 in Montpellier with Cyrille Dubois as Cyrille, Véronique Gens in the title role, Alexandre Duhamel as the count, and Anne-Catherine Gillet as Sonia, conducted by Michael Schønwandt.
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