About the work
Opera in four acts and eight tableaux by Benjamin Godard after Alphonse de Lamartine's narrative poem 'Jocelyn' (1836), with a libretto by Armand Silvestre and Victor Capoul. It was first performed on 25 February 1888 at the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels, conducted by Joseph Dupont.
Plot
The opera tells of the impossible love between the young priest Jocelyn and Laurence, whom he rescues while fleeing persecution. After Jocelyn takes holy orders, their paths diverge – she becomes a lady of Parisian society, he keeps his vow of celibacy – and they meet again only at her deathbed during a Corpus Christi procession.
Cultural significance
Several houses hesitated over the opera's delicate love story between a priest and a young woman before the Théâtre de la Monnaie took the risk of staging its premiere. What has endured of the opera is chiefly the Act II berceuse ('Oh! ne t'éveille pas encore'), which became far more popular than the work itself through countless piano arrangements and recordings, including by Bing Crosby and Plácido Domingo.