# Video of the Toulouse production of Meyerbeer's Prophète is online!



## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

Well, I know what I'm doing this evening.

https://culturebox.francetvinfo.fr/...beer-au-theatre-du-capitole-a-toulouse-271753

Que le clairon répète 
Notre chant 
Triomphant! 
Victoire! ...


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

O sublime spectacle! Miracle!

I've wanted to _see _ _Le Prophète_ for 11 years. Utterly extraordinary. It's one of the half-dozen best operas ever, if not at the absolute pinnacle. "People of my father's generation would rather have doubted the solar system than the supremacy of _Le Prophète _over all other operas" (Reynaldo Hahn).

Characters: a murderous evangelical preacher who claims to be the Messiah, the son of God; his mother; his unhinged fiancée; and a sinister trio of Anabaptists.

Meyerbeer is telling at once a small, intimate story - Fidès's, Jean, and Berthe's relationship - and an epic drama about tyranny, revolution, and religion; politics, mob violence, and fanaticism.

It's intense, with the sardonic brilliance of Euripides. (There are moments, too, like the trio bouffe in III that look forward to Brecht: an opéra comique number about murder and theft as Christian duties.)

Score, of course, is superb. Highlights include the Anabaptist sermon in I; Fidès's arias ("Ah, mon fils" in II, "Donnez pour une pauvre âme" in IV, "Ô prêtres de Baal" in IV); Jean's premonition in II; the brilliant skating ballet; the Act III finale; the magnificent soprano/mezzo duet in IV (two women sharing their grief); the Cathedral Scene; and the prison scene (aria, duet, trio). Unusual orchestral textures, melodic recitative...

The production is mod trad; there are some vaguely regie elements, but it works terrifically. Kate Aldrich is a stunning singer and actress; and John Osborn excellent (definitely better than McCracken). We need more grand opera!

Warning: Act I is weaker than the rest of the opera, in this production, and the Oberthal isn't very good. From Act II - God, it's terrific!


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