Le Martyre de saint Sébastien
Le Martyre de saint Sébastien is a five-act musical mystery play on the subject of Saint Sebastian, with a text written in 1911 by the Italian author Gabriele D'Annunzio and incidental music by the French composer Claude Debussy (L.124).
Illustration by Léon Bakst who designed the stage for the premiere
Sebastian was an early Christian saint and martyr. According to traditional belief, he was killed during the Diocletianic Persecution of Christians. He was initially tied to a post or tree and shot with arrows, though this did not kill him. He was, according to tradition, rescued and healed by Irene of Rome, which became a popular subject in 17th-century painting. In all versions of the story, shortly after his recovery he went to Diocletian to warn him about his sins, and as a result was clubbed to death. He is venerated in the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church.
Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian, by Il Sodoma, c. 1525
St Sebastian (Sebianus) in the Nuremberg Chronicle
Reliquary of Saint Sebastian, c. 1497 (Victoria and Albert Museum, London)
Lodovico Carracci painted St Sebastian Thrown into the Cloaca Maxima for the church at the place where his body was found (1612). The subject is virtually unique.