Robert le Diable

Giacomo Meyerbeer was a major composer of 19th-century French Grand Opera whose productions featured massive sets, spectacular effects, and elaborate ballets. But tastes changed and his operas fell out of the repertory, which is why this 2012 Covent Garden mounting of his first Parisian triumph is most welcome. Hailing from 1831, Robert le Diable is a Faust-like fable about Duke Robert of Normandy, son of a mortal woman and a devil now disguised as the manipulative Bertram in a bid to secure Robert's soul. Bertram sabotages his son's efforts to win the hand of Princess Isabelle, inducing Robert to seek diabolical powers instead. But happily, Robert's foster-sister, Alice, persuades him to denounce the devil, who returns to hell. This parable is presented in tableaux with huge choruses, extravagant arias, and one particularly bizarre dance sequence in which a group of nuns arise from their tombs to seduce Robert to the dark side. That infamous scene is presented imaginatively here, but conductor Daniel Oren makes cuts elsewhere, while Laurent Pelly's staging substitutes garishness for grandeur. Still, tenor Bryan Hymel (Robert) and bass John Relyea (Bertram) cope reasonably well with the score's extreme demands, as do Patrizia Ciofi (Isabelle) and Marina Poplavskaya (Alice). Presented in DTS 5.1 (DTS-HD 5.1 on the Blu-ray release) and LPCM stereo, extras include a behind-the-scenes featurette and a cast gallery. Highly recommended. (F. Swietek)