Since Le Destin is in fact music for the stage, it is important to recall the subject matter of Edgar Allan Poe’s short story “The Masque of the Red Death”, which was written in 1842. “The Red Death” is a term used to describe a plague sweeping through an imaginary land. Its victims are gripped by convulsive agony and sweat blood instead of water. It kills within half an hour. Yet Prince Prospero disregards the sufferings of his people, and seeks refuge with a thous...