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Les Mamelles de Tirésias (The Breasts of Tiresias)
50-57'
French
Synopsis
The young Thérèse, tired of being a housewife, transforms herself into the general Tirésias: her breasts become balloons and fly away. She ties up her husband and dresses him as a woman, then leaves to campaign against childbirth. Fearing the depopulation of France, the husband decides to have children without women, giving birth to 40,049 babies in one day. Overpopulation leads to famine. A fortune teller (Thérèse in disguise) resolves the crisis, and the couple reunites, joining the cast to urge the audience to procreate.
Composer
Francis Poulenc (1899-1963)
Lyricist / Librettist / Playwright
Guillaume Apollinaire (original play); Francis Poulenc adapted the libretto
Year of composition/publication / premiere
1944
Genre
Opera
LGBTQAI+ category
Queer
Level of centrality
Secondary character
Characters
Thérèse / Tirésias
Voice type
Baritone, Soprano
Pronouns
Publisher / Rights holder
Heugel & Cie (Paris, 1947). Currently: Wise Music Classical (World)
Where to buy / access the work
Vocal score available for purchase from Wise Music Classical, Musicroom, and Presto Music.
Performance rights
For performance rights, please contact the composer and/or publisher to ensure legal compliance.
Official website
Audio recording(s)
Video performance(s)
Keywords
Surrealism, gender identity, feminism, pro-natalism, Francis Poulenc, Guillaume Apollinaire, queer theory