Meyerbeer: Le Prophète (Live)

Adored by 19th-century audiences (although loathed by Wagner), Giacomo Meyerbeer has long since slipped to a peripheral position in opera-goers’ affections. This stirring live recording of Le Prophète, a religious drama set in the 16th century, may make you wonder why. Recorded live at the Aix-en-Provence Festival in 2023, it boasts an excellent cast headed by the sonorous American tenor John Osborn in the part of Jean de Leyde, a humble innkeeper turned messianic Anabaptist. Another American, mezzo-soprano Elizabeth DeShong, is imperious in the role of Fidès, Jean’s mother. Le Prophète has many vibrant choral numbers, and these are vividly fulfilled by the excellent Lyon Opera Chorus. Conductor Mark Elder, vastly experienced in opera, leads the London Symphony Orchestra with an infallible instinct for the dramatic peaks and troughs of Meyerbeer’s three-hour-plus epic. All told, this is a gripping recreation of the 19th-century grand opera experience.