Search - Giacomo Meyerbeer, Gianandrea Gavazzeni, La Scala Theater Orchestra & Chorus :: Meyerbeer: Les Huguenots (Gli Ugonotti)

A legendary performance

klavierspiel | TX, USA | 03/22/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Meyerbeer's operas are historically important as the apex of the nineteenth-century French Grand Opera style and heavily influenced many of Verdi's works, among others. They are seldom performed today due to their excessive length, musical unevenness and above all, the necessity of casting up to half a dozen roles with singers capable of handling the stratospheric demands of his vocal writing.From the evidence of this live recording this was a night at La Scala to remember. The opera house assembled a cast that actually met most of Meyerbeer's inordinate vocal requirements--such a feat could most likely not be accomplished today. We have Joan Sutherland and Franco Corelli at their vocal peaks, with Fiorenza Cossotto, Nicolai Ghiaurov, Giulietta Simionato and Giorgio Tozzi scarcely far behind. The Act Four duet between Simionato and Corelli, the finest music in the opera, is thrilling singing for the ages. Other highlights are Cossotto's surprising lightness and agility in the page's first act aria and Ghiaurov's commitment to his character, the fanatical Marcel.The opera is heavily cut in this performance (Meyerbeer's original fifth act is altogether missing) and translated into Italian. The singers routinely go for Italianate thrills rather than French refinement or delicacy. Coordination between pit and players on stage is frequently ragged. Audience noise, as well as the prompter, can be heard throughout. The sound on this particular incarnation is acceptable, but no more. None of this matters if you're a connoisseur of Golden Age singing. Grab this and give a listen."