 The Méditation is an instrumental "entr'acte" performed between the scenes of Act II in the opera "Thaïs".In the first scene of Act II, Athanaël, a Cenobite monk, confronts Thaïs, a beautiful and hedonistic courtesan and devotée of Venus, and attempts to persuade her to leave her life of luxury and pleasure and find salvation through God.It is during a time of reflection following the encounter that the "Méditation" is played by the orchestra.