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Meyerbeer - Robert le Diable (CD + Book)

£34.91

In stock - available for despatch within 1 working day

Label: Bru Zane

Cat No: BZ1049

Barcode: 8055776010069

Format: CD + Book

Number of Discs: 3

Genre: Opera

Release Date: 23rd September 2022

Works

Meyerbeer, Giacomo

Robert le diable (Robert the Devil)

Artists

John Osborn
Nicolas Courjal
Amina Edris
Erin Morley
Nico Darmanin
Joel Allison
Paco Garcia
Choeur de l’Opera National de Bordeaux
Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine

Conductor

Marc Minkowski

Works

Meyerbeer, Giacomo

Robert le diable (Robert the Devil)

Artists

John Osborn
Nicolas Courjal
Amina Edris
Erin Morley
Nico Darmanin
Joel Allison
Paco Garcia
Choeur de l’Opera National de Bordeaux
Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine

Conductor

Marc Minkowski

About

French grand-opéra specialist Marc Minkowski has at last recorded Robert le Diable, a jewel of the genre. A triumph at its premiere in November 1831, it captivated contemporaries, and its influence stretched as far as Verdi and Wagner. An imposing international cast brings this repertory cornerstone to life: John Osborn portrays a Robert at once valiant and tender, Amina Edris reveals her full resources in the perilous role of Alice, while idiomatic performances by Nicolas Courjal, Erin Morley and Nico Darmanin complete a line-up offering the most vivid contrasts of tessitura. Against the backdrop of a medieval legend, this fantastical work depicts a confrontation between Good and Evil, pitting against each other a group of protagonists torn between desire and duty. A foundational score of musical Romanticism – performed more than 750 times in the nineteenth century at the Paris Opéra alone – is now gradually emerging from oblivion.

Cast:
- Robert, duc de Normandie: John Osborn
- Bertram: Nicolas Courjal
- Alice, sœur de lait de Robert: Amina Edris
- Isabelle, princesse de Sicile: Erin Morley
- Raimbaut: Nico Darmanin
- Alberti / Un Prêtre: Joel Allison
- Un Héraut d’armes: Paco Garcia

Sound/Video

Paused

1

Ouverture
2

Act I Introduction. Versez à tasse pleine
3

Act I Ballade et Récit. Jadis régnait en Normandie
4

Act I Récit. Ô mon prince ! Ô mon maître !
5

Act I Romance. Va, dit-elle, va, mon enfant
6

Act I Récit. Je n_ai pu fermer sa paupière !
7

Act I Scène. Le duc de Normandie, à vos plaisirs
8

Act I Sicilienne. Ô fortune ! à ton caprice
9

Act I Scène du Jeu. Quinze !
10

Act II Entracte et Récit. Où me cacher, quelle horreur !
11

Act II Prière et Marche. Oh ! ma mère, ombre si tendre
12

Act II Récit et Air. Que je hais les grandeurs
13

Act II Récit. Courage ! allons, montrez-vous à ses yeux
14

Act II Duo. Avec bonté voyez ma peine
15

Act II Récit. À toi, Robert de Normandie
16

Act II Choeur dansé. Accourez au-devant d_elle
17

Act II Pas de cinq
18

Act II Récit et Finale. Quand tous nos chevaliers
19

Act II Finale (Suite). La trompette guerrière
20

Act III Entracte, Récit et Duo. Du rendez-vous voici l_heureux instant
21

Act III Valse infernale. Encore un de gagné !
22

Act III Récit. Raimbaut ! Raimbaut ! dans ce lieu solitaire
23

Act III Scène. Ô ciel ! le bruit redouble
24

Act III Duo. Mais Alice, qu_as-tu donc
25

Act III Trio. Fatal moment, cruel mystère
26

Act III Récit. Qu_a-t-elle donc
27

Act III Duo. Si j_aurai ce courage
28

Act III Récit et Évocation. Voici donc les débris du monastère antique
29

Act III Procession des Nonnes
30

Act III Récit. Jadis fille, du ciel, aujourd_hui de l_enfer
31

Act III Bacchanale
32

Act III Récit. Voilà ce lieu, témoin d_un terrible mystère !
33

Act III Séduction par le jeu
34

Act III Séduction par l_amour
35

Act III Choeur dansé. Il est à nous.
36

Act IV Entracte et Choeur. Noble et belle, Isabelle est sensible à vos voeux !
37

Act IV Récit et Choeur. Ciel !
38

Act IV Récit. Du magique rameau qui s_abaisse sur eux
39

Act IV Duo. Grand Dieu ! toi qui vois mes alarmes
40

Act IV Cavatine. Robert, toi que j_aime
41

Act IV Duo (suite). Mon coeur s_émeut à cette voix touchante.
42

Act IV Choeur et Strette. Quelle aventure ! est-ce un prestige
43

Act V Entracte et Choeur. Malheureux ou coupable
44

Act V Scène et Prière. Eh quoi !
45

Act V Récit. Je conçois que ces chants puissent troubler ton âme.
46

Act V Air. Je t_ai trompé, je fus coupable
47

Act V Récit. L_arrêt est prononcé, l_enfer est le plus fort
48

Act V Trio. Que faut-il faire
49

Act V Choeur aérien. Chantez, troupe immortelle

Europadisc Review

Premiered seven years after the last of his Italian operas, Il crociato in Egitto (1824), Giacomo Meyerbeer’s Robert le diable was the work that catapulted him to international fame and made him one of the leading exponents of French grand opera. Loosely based on medieval legend, its heady mixture of history, supernatural elements, brilliant vocal writing and orchestral scoring, lavish scenery and a generous helping of dance – including the scandalous Act 3 ‘Ballet of the Nuns’ – made it an overnight sensation, and a triumph for the new director of the Paris Opéra, Louis-Désiré Véron. Within three years it had notched up 100 performances at the Paris Opéra alone, and its wider success spawned a number of parodies, as well as one of Franz Liszt’s most popular operatic paraphrases, the Reminiscences de Robert le diable.

Although it was one of the most performed French grand operas of the 19th century, by the early years of the 20th it – along with the rest of Meyerbeer’s output – had fallen out of fashion, swept aside by the two-pronged assault of Wagnermania and Italian verismo. In recent decades, however, Meyerbeer’s operas have been staging something of a comeback, thanks partly to musicians with greater understanding of the idiom and the availability of voices able to cope with Meyerbeer’s demands, but also to an artistic and public curiosity for neglected genres of the past. It is now over two decades since Marc Minkowski conducted performances of Robert le diable at the Berlin State Opera, and in 2012 the Royal Opera House staged its first production of the work for over a century.

Minkowski’s new recording with forces of the Opéra National de Bordeaux, released by the Palazetto Bru Zane, is as lavish a production as one could hope for on CD. It is sumptuously presented as a numbered ‘limited edition’ hardback book, with complete libretto and English translation, and with the (relatively few) cut passages necessitated by any performance that takes care of its singers’ stamina clearly marked. Although you don’t get the visuals, the generous documentation includes an impressive number of illustrations – monochrome, but clearly presented – plus detailed essays on the opera and its background, as well as its visual elements.

As you’d expect from a conductor of Minkowski’s experience, the pacing and understanding of the genre are thoroughly idiomatic, with telling details of Meyerbeer’s orchestration highlighted to vivid effect, not least those that emphasise the diabolic elements (lower woodwind, brass and eery percussion). Although the opera shares some characteristics with Weber’s Der Freischütz, the vocal shading needs to be distinctly Francophone, which is exactly what we get here. Tenor John Osborn, as the vacillating titular hero, is relatively soft-grained and takes a while to get into his stride, but when he does – from the third of the opera’s five acts onwards – he delivers aplenty, with fearless but not overpowering top notes, and a vocal sensitivity to underline the character’s fundamentally sympathetic nature. As his saintly step-sister Alice, soprano Amina Edris has a wonderfully clear, gently silky tone, and her solo arias are most touching.

The main antagonist, Robert’s father-in-disguise Bertram, is sung by bass Nicolas Courjal with a lighter-toned voice than you might expect, ensuring that his trios with Robert and Alice – the unaccompanied ‘Fatal moment, cruel mystère’ in Act 3, and the glorious Act 5 ‘Que faut-il faire?’ at the opera’s climax – are nicely matched and balanced. He also manages to send shivers down the spine in his Act 3 Evocation, ‘Nonnes, qui reposez sous cette froide pierre’, before the Procession of Nuns and their notorious Bacchanale – played with just the right degree of impish abandon by the Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine.

Erin Morley makes a sparkling Princess Isabelle, the object of Robert’s affections (when he’s not being distracted by his devil of a father), with staggeringly gleaming top notes and agile coloratura as she summons the knights to combat in tournament. Character tenor Nico Darmanin makes an engaging Raimbaut, the minstrel betrothed to Alice, his spirited Act 1 Ballade making one regret that this character was written out of the opera’s last two acts when the original conception of an opéra comique was dropped in favour of the grand opera format. With more to do than on many previous recordings of this opera, the Bordeaux chorus make thrilling contributions to the action, particularly the more tableau-like scenes, together with the orchestra giving us an important taste of the sheer scale of this long-neglected genre.

Just a week after reviewing a stunning disc of French 19th-century coloratura arias from Jodie Devos, this is another release to give heart to lovers of French Romantic opera. Both the idiomatic, spirited performance and the luxury presentation make this set well-nigh indispensable. It’s yet another feather in Bru Zane’s cap, and – with its succession of toe-tapping good tunes, marrying the best of German, Italian and French traditions – hugely enjoyable to boot.

Reviews

Minkowski and his Bordeaux forces, however, also powerfully bring home [the opera’s] originality and the striking novelty of the sound world that so startled its first audiences. ... Meyerbeer’s vocal writing is exacting, its challenges beautifully met. John Osborn’s tone has darkened a bit of late, though his effortless high notes and expressive dynamic range allow him to convey the turmoil in Robert’s mind wonderfully well. As Alice, facing her own fears of evil in order to save him from his father, Amina Edris reveals a burnished lyric soprano and splendid dramatic commitment. ... It all adds up to a formidable re-evaluation of a seminal if neglected work, as well as being a remarkable achievement in its own right. Bru Zane should be commended for tackling it, and I cannot recommend it too highly. Tim Ashley (Recording of the Month)

Gramophone Awards 2022

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Condition	Description
New	Brand new item, only ever sourced from the official UK distributor. Usually seal-wrapped, although a minority of labels do not use seal-wrap.
Used - Mint	Used item in excellent condition. Not usually seal-wrapped.
Used - Good	Used item with some minor signs of wear and tear. Never seal-wrapped.
Used - Acceptable	Used item with obvious scuffs or cosmetic damage to the case or booklet. Never seal-wrapped.

Condition	Description
New	Brand new item, only ever sourced from the official UK distributor. Usually seal-wrapped, although a minority of labels do not use seal-wrap.
Used - Mint	Used item in excellent condition. Not usually seal-wrapped.
Used - Good	Used item with some minor signs of wear and tear. Never seal-wrapped.
Used - Acceptable	Used item with obvious scuffs or cosmetic damage to the case or booklet. Never seal-wrapped.

Meyerbeer - Robert le Diable (CD + Book)

In stock - available for despatch within 1 working day

Despatch Information

Contents

Works

Artists

Conductor

Works

Artists

Conductor

About

Sound/Video

Paused

Europadisc Review

Reviews

Also Available

£23.87

£14.67

£33.99

£33.99

£14.26

Condition Information

Condition Information