"I have been tormented by the idea of a vast opera of which I should write both words and music," wrote Hector Berlioz toward the end of his embittered career. "I am resisting the temptation." Several years later in 1858, he added a note to his memoirs: "Alas, no! I could not resist. I have just finished the book and music of Les Troyens, an opera in five acts. What is to become of this huge work?"
As he might have guessed, very little was to become of it. The Trojans called for 20 principal singers, two choruses, ten different sets, hunters...
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