Description

COMPLETE AUTOGRAPH MANUSCRIPT the libretto of the three-act opera written for one of the members of the Groupe des Six, Germaine Tailleferre.

Composed from 1957 onwards, very freely adapted from Andersen's fairy tale, The Little Mermaid was premiered on September 30, 1960 at the ORTF (Radio-France) by the Orchestre lyrique conducted by Michel Le Conte. It contains, for the first time in Germaine Tailleferre's work, doédécaphonic passages, a composition she would only repeat for his sonata for solo clarinet in the same year.

The manuscript is divided into four parts, reflecting the development of the libretto's writing process :

- First version of a detailed plan in five parts (the opera will have only 3 acts) under another title, Plan of petite Ondine I Version (2.5 pages).
- Two different versions of a dialogue between Little Ondine, the sister, the aunt and the mother, concerning Ondine's attitude and her isolation. (5 pages)
- Synopsis of the libretto of The Little Mermaid - Libretto by Philippe Soupault based on a fairy tale by Andersen - Music by Germaine Tailleferre A detailed synopsis in three acts (2.5 pages), followed by a list of Characters according to their presence in each act (1 page).
- Complete libretto of the opera in 3 acts. (19 pages), signed Philippe Soupault in fine, with numerous erasures, corrections and repentances.

These four parts were bound together by the author and open with a title page that dates the premiere to 1957-1958 and dedicates the libretto to Nelly Kalpan.
Philippe Soupault called Nelly Kaplan the little mermaid and Ondine ; They were particularly close and exchanged a great deal of correspondence, in which Soupault tells him that he had ambitious plans for the opera:

I saw Hirsch (opera) yesterday at 5pm. He's interested in The Little Mermaid but wants the Little Mermaid to be both a singer and a dancer. Very kind but we know what smiles mean. G. Taillefere [composer of The Little Mermaid], who is a great friend of Picasso's, asked him to do the sets. I accepted for the publicity. (1958)

Kaplan writes the first testimonial that opens Cahiers Soupault I with , Je salute you Philippe, full of revolte :

"In one of her texts (which I believe is unpublished), La Petite Ondine, a "fabulous opera", the heroine sings: "I am only afraid of becoming what you are and what you will become".
A word to the wise...
Then, on another page of the libretto, the Little Ondine insults: "You want me to stay close to you so that you can love me in your own way (...) And I want you to love me in my own way, so that I am free not to be a slave to your love. Love me, so that I can be free.
Chorus: We love you.
La Petite Ondine: But do you love me enough for me not to love you?»