Hail to the King
He's done it: Meyerbeer reigns over opera. And yet, more plot twists are coming. Donald Macleod follows the composer, crowned with success, in his new adventure, at a royal court.
With smash hits including 'Robert le diable', 'Les Huguenots' and 'Le Proph猫te', Giacomo Meyerbeer (1791-1864) was one of the most performed composers on the 19th-century stages: (re)discover the celebrated King of Grand Opera, in his own quasi-operatic life of sparkling successes, plot twists and travelling adventures, but also of prejudice and hardship.
A tragic queen, a theatrical ball, and some domestic trouble... The fourth act of our composer's life is marked by a royal proposition, which he won't be able to refuse, while having to face poisonous attacks, especially from a former prot茅g茅, a certain Richard Wagner.
Robert le diable
Act II. Pas de cinq
Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine
Marc Minkowski, conductor
Struensee
Act II; Entr鈥檃cte II: Der Ball
Hannover Radio Philharmonic Orchestra
Michail Jurovski, conductor
Les Huguenots
Act IV. "Gloire, gloire au grand Dieu vengeur !" (3 Monks, Saint-Bris, Conspirators)
John Wakefield, tenor
Alan Opie, baritone
Clifford Grant, bass
Gabriel Bacquier, baritone
Ambrosian Opera Chorus
Philharmonia Orchestra
Richard Bonynge, conductor
Les Huguenots
Act II. "O beau pays de la Touraine" (Marguerite) [excerpt]
Dame Joan Sutherland, soprano
Josephte Cl茅ment, mezzo-soprano
Huguette Tourangeau, soprano
Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, soprano
Ambrosian Opera Chorus
Philharmonia Orchestra
Richard Bonynge, conductor
Fantasie for clarinet & string quartet
Dieter Kl枚cker, clarinet
Consortium Classicum
Ein Feldlager in Schlesien [A Camp in Silesia]
Act 3. "Oh Schwester, find' ich dich!... Lebe wohl, geliebte Schwester" (Therese, Vielka)
Diana Damrau, soprano
Kate Aldrich, mezzo-soprano
Ch艙ur de l鈥橭p茅ra National de Lyon
Orchestre de l鈥橭p茅ra National de Lyon
Emmanuel Villaume, conductor
Psalm 91
Veronika Winter, soprano
Anne Bierwirth, alto
Immo Schroder, tenor
Matthias Vieweg, bass
Rheinische Kantorei
Hermann Max, director
Presented by Donald Macleod
Produced by Julien Rosa
A 大象传媒 Wales & West production for 大象传媒 Radio 3
On radio
Broadcast
- Thu 6 Feb 2025 16:00大象传媒 Radio 3
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