Meyerbeer: Le prophète (LSO Live) - MusicWeb International

Giacomo Meyerbeer (1791-1864)
Le prophète, grand opera in five acts (1849)
Jean de Leyde – John Osborn (tenor)
Fidès – Elizabeth DeShong (mezzo)
Berthe – Mané Galoyan (soprano)
Le Comte Oberthal – Edwin Crossley-Mercer (bass baritone)
Zacharie, Anabaptist – James Platt (bass)
Mathisen, Anabaptist – Guilhem Worms (bass baritone)
Jonas, Anabaptist – Valerio Contaldo (tenor)
Lyon Opera Chorus, Maîtrise des Bouches-du-Rhône
London Symphony Orchestra, members of the Mediterranean Youth Orchestra/Sir Mark Elder
rec. live, 15 July, 2023, Grand Théâtre de Provence, Arles, France (Festival d’Aix-en-Provence)
Booklet with articles and libretto with English translation included
LSO Live LSO0894 SACD [3 discs: 166]

This is a new, live recording of a concert staging of Meyerbeer’s five act French grand opéra Le prophète in a co-production between Palazzetto Bru Zane and the 2023 Festival d’Aix-en-Provence Festival. Sir Mark Elder uses the 2011 Ricordi edition of the score and conducts the large orchestral and choral forces that Meyerbeer demands for spectacular productions of his French Grand Operas. The London Symphony Orchestra and the Mediterranean Youth Orchestra combine with the Lyon Opera Chorus and the Maîtrise des Bouches-du-Rhône, and an impressive cast of soloists.

Meyerbeer achieved formidable success in Paris with Robert le diable (premiered 1831) and Les Huguenots (premiered 1836). As performances of these operas spread, he was soon feted throughout the opera world, becoming the most eminent opera composer of the middle-nineteenth century. This elevated status didn’t last, however, as styles and tastes changed. In recent decades, there have been a few revivals and some recordings of Meyerbeer operas. While some might regard this increasing interest as a mini-renaissance, there has been no real rush to regularly stage the operas. Nevertheless, this reassessment of Meyerbeer must be a positive move. Occasionally, arias from Le prophète have been contained on recital collections but I suspect that they remain largely unknown.

Meyerbeer and Eugene Scribe wrote Le prophète for the Paris Opéra company whose productions In the Salle Le Peletier with its huge stage and access to large orchestral and choral forces were lavish. Le prophète was a tremendous success right from its 1849 Paris premiere and was give some 570 performances through to 1912. By my reckoning, the number of performances places it in the top five of all French Grand Opéras staged by the Paris Opéra. Nevertheless, biographer Robert Ignatius Letellier wrote that ‘Le prophète is regarded as Meyerbeer’s darkest and most difficult work’ – although audiences for it in its first sixty years were obviously not discouraged by its gloominess.

Scribe based his libretto for Le prophète on Voltaire’s Essai sur les mœurs et l’esprit des nations. Set in sixteenth century Flanders, the plot revolves around the infamous historical figure Jean de Leyde (John of Leiden). An innkeeper, Jean becomes a prophet of the Anabaptist sect, hence the name of the opera. In 1534 the German city of Münster was overwhelmed by an uprising of Anabaptists led by Jean de Leyde. Becoming a millenarian state, it was ruled tyrannically by a religious leader Jean who declared himself king and decreed that Münster be renamed as the ‘New Jerusalem’.

The historical events surrounding Le prophète concern religious dogma, extremism, and tyrannical power. Scribe spins an imaginary plot focusing on egotism, scheming, deceit and ultimate betrayal. The love story relates to Jean’s beloved Berthe and his renunciation of his mother, Fidès.

The cast comprises of seven soloists, among which there are three major roles: Fidès, Jean and Berthe. Having a mezzo-soprano, in the leading role of Fidès, was breaking with convention. That concession was probably due to the star role being designed for Parisian dramatic mezzo-soprano Pauline Viardot, who created the role.

There are several notable passages in Le prophète that must have entranced the original audiences and I shall focus on these. Significant in Act I are the Anabaptist sermon and Berthe and Fidès’ two-part romance Un jour dans les flots de la Meuse. Best of all, is Berthe’s cavatine Mon cœur s’élance et palpite. Armenian, lyric spinto soprano Mané Galoyan sings the role of Berthe with all the convincing freshness of a young woman in love, an interpretation that feels high on sincerity. Her voice may not be weighty, yet she projects it firmly and produces some splendid tone colours.

In Act II is the first appearance of Jean the humble innkeeper from Leyde who becomes the false Anabaptist prophet. A noted exponent of rare nineteenth century French opera John Osborn, lives up to his reputation in a role he knows well. Especially admirable is his rendition of the ‘dream narration’ Sous les vastes arceaux where Jean relates how he knew he was the ‘chosen one!’ or ‘Messiah’. Jean has several solos and Osborn gives a spirited performance of them, demonstrating that he hasn’t loss his verve. Overall, his voice is well controlled and pleasingly consistent, reliable throughout its range.Splendid also in Act II are Fidès’ arioso Ah! mon fils, sois béni! and the renowned quartet Gémissant sous le joug sung by Jean and the three fanatical Anabaptists, Zacharie, Mathisen and Jonas.

Celebrated in Act III is the divertissement ‘ballet of the skaters’ consisting of a Valse, Pas de Redowa, Quadrille and Galop, a winter scene held on a frozen lake where the dancers wear roller-skates not ice-skates. The London Symphony Orchestra plays with real credit here. We also hear the male buffo trio Sous votre bannière que faudra-t-il faire? Next comes the triumphal hymn Roi du ciel et des anges concludes with a sunrise scene over Münster. In the 1849 premiere, the theatre was the first ever to use electric arc lights.

Act IV contains Fidès’ lamenting aria Donnez pour une pauvre âme. In addition, there is the dramatic and affecting duet Pour garder à ton fils for Berthe, disguised as a pilgrim, and Fidès. In the next scene the striking coronation march is played in the cathedral prior to the grandiose coronation scene where Jean is crowned Emperor of Germany. Fidès announces that she is the mother of Jean, but then withdraws her remark to save his reputation and ultimately his life.

The prophet Jean might have the title role, but matriarch Fidès is the leading and most influential character in Le prophète, by turns strict and loving. I especially admire the first scene of Act V that revolves around Fidès who is being held prisoner. Fidès’ has the celebrated aria O prêtres de Baal, the cavatine O toi qui m’abandonnes and the air Femme, prosterne-toi where agreement has been reached to hand Jean over to the invading enemy. Fidès is distraught, prey to the dilemma of deciding if she should save Jean, who has disowned her. Elizabeth DeShong excels as Fidès and is clearly inspired by a role that was long regarded as one of the most iconic female characters in opera. Hers is a top-class performance, demonstrating a well-managed voice that slightly darkens in its low register. She is most comfortable in her high register, and her quick vibrato doesn’t impinge on my enjoyment. She is adept at creating and maintaining a sense of drama in what seems an ideal role for her.

Next is the grand duoMa mére! Mais toi qu’on déteste between Fidès and Jean. Jean begs his mother for forgiveness, who tells him to renounce his power so God will pardon him. DeShong and Osborn are in compelling voice here. In Act V, Berthe discovers that Jean is the prophet and kills herself. A massive conflagration concludes the opera, as soldiers gain entry to the palace and Jean blows it up, killing his enemies, himself and mother.

This is a top-drawer performance by all concerned, particularly the trio of principals. Galoyan and DeShong don’t over egg the pudding where coloratura is concerned and the results sound well judged. In the smaller roles, Edwin Crossley-Mercer convincingly creates a most unpleasant Oberthal and the anabaptists are well chosen.

A proven master of large orchestras and choruses, Sir Mark Elder brings everything tautly together conducting with verve, skill and precision. The London Symphony Orchestra is hard to fault here, playing superbly, and there is a splendid contribution by the young players of the Mediterranean Youth Orchestra. With plenty to do, the Lyon Opera Chorus and the children of the vocal art centre Maîtrise des Bouches-du-Rhône make a real impact.

As recordings of Meyerbeer operas have been thin on the ground, like many admirers of the composer, I was thrilled by the 1977 release of Meyerbeer’s Le prophète a world premiere recording on Columbia/CBS Masterworks. The release was recorded in French on 4 vinyl LPs in 1976 at the Henry Wood Hall, London. The assembled cast included James McCracken (Jean), Marilyn Horne (Fidès) and Renata Scotto (Berthe) with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Ambrosian Opera Chorus and Haberdashers’ Aske’s Boys Choir all conducted by Henry Lewis. In 1989 the London recording was reissued on a 3 CD set by CBS Masterworks complete with full French libretto and English translations, the whole kit and caboodle. A far less lavish reissue of the 1976 London recording of Le prophète was released in 2016 on Sony Classical Opera and it doesn’t seem to have been remastered.

Other recordings I know include the Italian radio recording of Le prophète sung in French from 1970 at the Turin Auditorium. Featuring Marilyn Horne (Fidès), Nicolai Gedda (Jean) and Margherita Rinaldi (Berthe) the conductor is Henry Lewis. Released several times on different labels, my recording was issued in 2000 on Opera d’Oro. I agree with those commentators who consider that the singing is terrific and maintain that the recording is unfortunately let down by the poor sound quality. There is a splendid recording of Le prophète in French with leading soloists John Osborn (Jean), Marianne Cornetti (Fidès) and Lynette Tapia (Berthe). Conducter Giuliano Carella uses the 2011 critical edition of the score. It was recorded live in 2017 at the Aalto-Musiktheater Essen a 3 CD set released on Oehms Classics (review).

Played on my standard unit, this hybrid SACD is sonically first rate with virtually no unwanted noise, and applause has been taken out. A booklet with essays, synopsis and sung French texts with an English translation placed along side is provided.

In recent years there has been a small but promising number of new recordings of French grand opéra such as La Reine de Chypre (Halévy), Guillaume Tell (Rossini), Les Martyrs, Dom Sebastien (Donizetti), Robert le Diable, L’africaine (Meyerbeer) and now this Le prophète. I hope record labels will turn their attention to other neglected French Grand Operas that were acclaimed in their day such as Charles VI (Halévy), Gustave III (Auber) and Patrie! (Paladilhe) and I would like to see new recordings of La muette de Portici (Auber), Les Huguenots (Meyerbeer) and La Juive (Halévy).