A little longer and Brilliant Classsics will become a true rival to Opera Rara. They snatch one unknown/unloved/forgotten opera after another from oblivion and their catalogue makes a sincere opera lover’s mouth water. Add to this many recordings of better, or well-known titles that have become classics but have long since disappeared from the market, and it should become clear: Brilliant Classics is a publisher to take seriously. Especially because its price tag is particularly friendly to consumers.
The difference with Opera Rara lies mainly in the very brief presentation at BC. And you don’t have to expect the first and/or complete score of a work with them either.
Meyerbeer’s Robert le Diable, recorded live in Salerno in March 2012, has therefore been updated. Some things have been cut, but what remains is three hours of unadulterated fun, in which you can take turns to horror, grief and love.
The very first performance after World War II – abridged and in Italian – was only in 1968, during Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. The magnificent cast (Merighi, Christoff, Scotto and Malagù) was under the direction of Nino Sanzogno and the live recording was released on a “bootleg”.
Bryan Hymel has pretty much become the face of French Grand Opera by now. After Berlioz’s Le Troyens, he has also included Robert in his repertoire, a role he also recently performed in London.
His firm but supple tenor, with its slightly nasal timbre, also sounds a bit French. Occasionally he reminds one a little of the young Domingo, but for now he lacks his power and, especially in the high part, he is sometimes inclined to ‘bleat’
About Patricia Ciofi I can be brief: phenomenal and breathtaking. With her “Robert, toi que j’aime”, she gives listeners goosebumps and tears in their eyes. Carmen Giannatasio (Alice) is not inferior to her. With a very sublime and movingly sung “Va, dit-elle”, she provides another highlight of the opera.
Alastair Miles is a good Bertram, though one can hear his best years are perhaps behind him; and Martial Defontaine is a very idiomatic Raimbout.
Daniel Oren clearly has “feeling” for the repertoire and is unconditionally committed to it.
Basia con fuoco 