Friday, 9 October 2026

The name Azor in Grétry’s opera “Zémire et Azor”, in Fet’s palindrome and among dogs

It has become clear. It was a misapprehension. Azor is the name of the monster in André Grétry's comic opera "Zémire et Azor", which predates our own tale of "Beauty and the Beast". I might have known so simple a thing. Azor is an ancient Indian name, mentioned in the Bible. And, to all appearances, there is reason to doubt that Fet is the author of the well-worn palindrome. But that Azor is actively used as a name for dogs I know from a thread on an American dog-lovers' forum, where they were indignant that anyone should give an animal so unsuitable a name

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