A New Yorker Notable Recording of 2022!French grand-opéra specialist Marc Minkowski has at last recorded Robert le Diable, a jewel of the genre. A triumph at its...

A New Yorker Notable Recording of 2022!

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.

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In these days of cash-strapped opera houses and risk-averse labels, recordings of the grander grand operas are rarities. Flawless ones are even rarer, making this breathtaking and ground-breaking new Palazzetto Bru Zane recording of Meyerbeer’s Robert le Diable a cause for celebration. In Marc Minkowski’s experienced hands, Meyerbeer’s gothic saga fairly flies off the page, every bar fizzing with energy and with set pieces that burst over our heads like fireworks. Add an outstandingly talented cast, headed by John Osborn as Robert and Erin Morley as Isabelle, and you have a set with award-winner written all over it.

-- Limelight