La Haine (Hatred) is a drama in five acts and eight tableaux by Victorien Sardou, premiered at the Théâtre de la Gaîté in Paris on 3 December 1874. Jacques Offenbach, director of the theatre, composed extensive incidental music for chorus and orchestra to accompany the play.
Background
Offenbach had composed songs and incidental music for eleven classical and modern dramas for the Comédie Française in the early 1850s, gaining valuable experience in writing for the theatre. Sardou and Offenbach created their first joint work in 1872 with the opéra-bouffe-féerie Le Roi Carotte, which ran for 195 performances, and this encouraged the two to renew their collaboration.
By 1874, Jacques Offenbach had become the director of the Théâtre de la Gaîté. To follow a revival of Orphée aux Enfers on 7 February, he decided to mount Sardou's drame using the under-used theatrical troupe at the theatre.
Rehearsal
Orphée aux Enfers closed on the 18 November to allow the rehearsals for La Haine to start, directed by Sardou himself who did not spare his efforts. Le Figaro reported that "Sardou is the most meticulous director in the world" and that he "places particular importance on the extras being actively involved as much as any of the actors." Rehearsals increased and the dress rehearsal took place on 27 November.
The premiere was announced for the 29 November, but was postponed on the day itself, due to the flu epidemic in the capital which indisposed two principal actors, Lafontaine et Clément Just. First of all it was postponed until 30 November but only took place on Thursday 3 December, but as the actors had not completely recovered, Sardou cut the final scene.
Reception
The premiere audience marvelled at the magnificence of the production. The scenery was especially dazzling. Francisque Sarcey noted "It is only right to recognize that, of the décors, several are masterpieces of exquisite taste; the cathedral dome is a marvel of lightness and grave; the inside of the church is superb."
Everything was done to dazzle : dramatist and composer went so far as to transport a Cavaillé-Coll organ into the theatre. The settings were grand and impressive: the stage accommodated 535 persons.: "The war-cries of the soldiers, the moans of the terrified women, the clanking of armour, the booming of guns, the conquerors' entrance in the city, the sacking of the palace, all was of an exact and admirable motion."
The words of Victorien Sardou were also noted, but critics commented that the direction was rather against the drama. Francisque Sarcey regretted that the principal roles appeared crushed : "The supernumeraries and props are too prominent. The crowd is the principal character. Tableaux follow tableaux, and in this new work, they are equally dark."
For Auguste Vitu the play evoked painful memories of 1870 : "Streets full of bodies, palaces in flames, the homeland forsaken in the presence of the dumbfounded foreigner, and as if scandalized by so many distractions, such are the unforgettable sights which our consciousness is still soured, and of which our hearts still bleed. The widows and orphans in black, I have seen them bowed in our churches, the air rent with their sobs. The door of deathly memory re-opens wide within us; and sadness envelops us with its great black wings."
While receipts came to around 8,000 francs per performance in mid-December, they fell to around 5,000 francs during the second fortnight On 28 December Le Figaro printed a letter from Sardou requesting that Offenbach recall his piece from the stage; Offenbach replied that as the public prefer lively art he would bring back Orphée. The announcement had the effect of filling the theatre for the last performances of La Haine. After 27 performances the play closed on 29 December 1874 and Orphée aux Enfers was brought back. The short run left the theatre in a parlous financial position. Some costumes were used in the revised version of Geneviève de Brabant which opened on 25 February 1875.
Despite the failure, Sardou and Offenbach did contemplate a further collaboration on a spectacular production of the playwright's Don Quichotte.
A modern performance with reduced text but complete score took place on 19 July 2009 at the Festival de Radio France et Montpellier Languedoc Roussillon, with Fanny Ardant and Gérard Depardieu playing Cordelia and Orso. The concert was broadcast on France Musique on 30 July 2009.