Viviane (Chausson)

Viviane, Op. 5, is a symphonic poem by the French composer Ernest Chausson. Chausson's first true composition for orchestra, Viviane was begun in September 1882 and influenced by the music of César Franck and Richard Wagner, just after Chausson had attended the world premiere of the latter's last opera Parsifal at Bayreuth.

Named after the fairy Viviane of Arthurian legend, Chausson's piece concentrates on the episode of her affair with the wizard Merlin in the forest of Broncéliande. Chausson's ardorous interest in Arthurian legend would lead him to spend many years finishing the only opera of his career, Le roi Arthus, Op. 23 (1886-95).

Chausson completed Viviane in December 1882 and dedicated it to Jeanne Escudier, whom he was going to marry in June. The work was premiered at a concert of the Société Nationale de Musique in the Salle Érard on 31 March 1883, conducted by Édouard Colonne, which also featured the premiere of Franck's Le Chasseur maudit. In 1887, Chausson made a major reorchestration of Viviane, which was first presented by Charles Lamoureux on 29 January 1888.

Vivian (given name)

Vivian is a given name, originally a Latin name of the Roman Empire period, masculine Vivianus and feminine Viviana, which survived into modern use because it is the name of two early Christian female martyrs as well as of a male saint and bishop.

History and variants

The Latin name Vivianus is recorded from the 1st century. It is ultimately related to the adjective vivus "alive", but it is formed from the compound form vivi- and the adjectival -ānus suffix used to form cognomina.

The latinate given name Vivianus was of limited popularity in the medieval period in reference to Saint Vivianus, a 5th-century bishop of Saintes; the feminine name was that of Saint Viviana (Bibiana), a 4th-century martyr whose veneration in Rome is ascertained for the 5th century.

The name was brought to England with the Norman invasion, and is occasionally recorded in England in the 12th and 13th centuries. The masculine given name appears with greater frequency in the early modern period. The spelling Vivian was historically used only as a masculine name, but in the 19th century was also given to girls and was a unisex name until the early part of the 20th century; since the mid 20th century, it has been almost exclusively given as a feminine name in the United States. Use of Vivian as a feminine name in the US peaked in popularity in 1920 at rank 64, but declined in the second half of the 20th century, falling below rank 500 in the 1980s. Its popularity has again picked up somewhat since the 1990s, as of 2012 having attained rank 140.

Lady of the Lake

Lady of the Lake is the titular name of the ruler of Avalon in the Arthurian legend. She plays a pivotal role in many stories, including giving King Arthur his sword Excalibur, enchanting Merlin, and raising Lancelot after the death of his father. Different writers and copyists give the Arthurian character the name Nimue, Viviane, Vivien, Elaine, Ninianne, Nivian, Nyneve, or Evienne, among other variations.

In medieval literature

The Lancelot-Grail Cycle provides a backstory for the Lady of the Lake, Viviane, in the prose Merlin section, which takes place before the Lancelot Proper, though it was written later. There, Viviane learns her magic from Merlin, who becomes enamored of her. She refuses to give him her love until he has taught her all his secrets, after which she uses her power to trap him either in the trunk of a tree or beneath a stone, depending on the story and author. Though Merlin, through his power of foresight knows beforehand that this will happen, he is unable to counteract Viviane because of the "truth" this ability of foresight holds. He decides to do nothing for his situation other than to continue to teach her his secrets until she takes the opportunity to entrap and entomb him in a tree, a stone or a cave.