Depuis le jour (Louise)—Gustave Charpentier | Hunter S. Hancock

Depuis le jour (1900) from Louise Music by Gustave Charpentier (1860-1956), French Libretto by Charpentier and Saint-Pol-Roux (1861-1940), French Pour mon cher Vincent, qui a donné vie à cette chanson Depuis le jour où je me suis donnée, toute fleurie semble ma destinée. Je crois rêver sous un ciel de féerie, l'âme encore grisée de ton premier baiser! Quelle belle vie! Mon rêve n'était pas un rêve! Ah! je suis heureuse! L'amour étend sur moi ses ailes! Au jardin de mon cœur chante une joie nouvelle! Tout vibre, tout se réjouit de mon triomphe! Autour de moi tout est sourire, lumière et joie! Et je tremble délicieusement au souvenir charmant Du premier jour d'amour! Quelle belle vie! Ah! je suis heureuse! trop heureuse. . . Et je tremble délicieusement au souvenir charmant du premier jour d'amour! Since the day I gave myself to you, my destiny seems full of flowers. I feel I'm dreaming under a magical sky, my soul still intoxicated by your first kiss! What a beautiful life! My dream wasn't a dream! Ah! I'm so happy! Love spreads its wings over me! In the garden of my heart sings a new joy! Everything trembles, everything rejoices in my triumph! All around me are smiles, light and joy! And I'm trembling deliciously at the charming memory of that first day of love! What a beautiful life! Ah! I'm so happy! Utterly happy. . . And I'm trembling delightfully at the charming memory of that first day of love! The opera Louise is, above all, an examination of female agency at the fin de siècle. The eponymous Louise is a young woman raised by working-class parents who is in love with an artist named Julien. Louise is the ever-beautiful and youthful embodiment of France itself, her name even being the feminine version of “Louis,” regnal moniker of sixteen French kings. Her parents represent the old-fashioned idea of single women living with their parents until they are married, dependent on their fathers’ support and blessing in marriage. Julien, in turn, encourages Louise to break free of her parents’s whims, symbolizing sexual and personal freedom. But the opera also asks: is that truly freedom? In either direction, Louise still requires support from a man, whether it be her father or her partner, to exist “freely.” Still, even within this context, Louise makes her choice. This aria is the most well-known of the opera, and is sung by Louise at the beginning of the third act. At this point in the story, Louise has left her parents to live with Julien in Paris, where she is crowned the social Queen of Montmartre, the artistic center of the city. In love with her man and her life, Louise sings of her joy. ⭑ 🌒 🌓 🌔 🌕 🌖 🌗 🌘 ⭑ MY HEART, THE MOON: A Master's Recital Hunter S. Hancock, soprano with Ted Powell, piano Sunday, May 3rd, 2026 Texas Woman's University Margo Jones Performance Hall 1100 Oakland Street, Denton, Texas 76201 All translations and program descriptions are my own. © 2026 Hunter S. Hancock, licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0