Le prophète

"As an advocate for an opera you did not know you needed to hear, Elder is unrivalled. The work in question is Meyerbeer's Le Prophète, in a live recording with the London Symphony Orchestra, from last year's Festival d'Aix-en-Provence, with exciting soloists and the expert Lyon Opera chorus ... The tenor John Osborn as Jean de Leyde, the prophet of the title; mezzo-soprano Elizabeth DeShong as his mother; and soprano Mané Galoyan as his fiancee, Berthe, lead a first-rate cast. It's decidedly a curiosity, but here given a breathless ride to its dramatic conclusion".

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"This is a top-drawer performance by all concerned, particularly the trio of principals. Galoyan and DeShong don't over egg the pudding where coloratura is concerned and the results sound well judged ... A proven master of large orchestras and choruses, Sir Mark Elder brings everything tautly together conducting with verve, skill and precision. The London Symphony Orchestra is hard to fault here, playing superbly ... With plenty to do, the Lyon Opera Chorus and the children of the vocal art centre Maîtrise des Bouches-du-Rhône make a real impact".

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"The cast of this recording is fairly decent overall. Mané Galoyan is a sweet-sounding Berthe who immediately gains the listener's sympathy. She brings a true French timbre and excellent diction to the role ... This recording allows John Osborn a second chance to commit his portrayal of John of Leyden to disc. He gave a marvelous, committed performance for Giuliano Carella on the Oehms set and he is no less committed here ... Elizabeth DeShong shows that she can encompass all of the notes of Fidès in her vocal armoury; that in itself is a considerable achievement ... Sir Mark Elder receives wonderful support from the London Symphony Orchestra who are fine throughout. The two French choruses bring real authority to their music ... I can ... recommend this new recording with only a few reservations".

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"Recording of the week: On every count, it's difficult to imagine this weird and wonderful score sounding better. Mark Elder clearly adores the piece and has the full measure of its rather lopsided Gothic architecture. All three principals meet Meyerbeer's fearsome demands with near-total security, but the real marvel is the way they get right under the skin of these psychologically complex characters. Competition may not exactly be stiff, but this surely must be the new reference recording".

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"Editor's choice: The 21st-century Meyerbeer revival ... is so far bearing more fruit on record than it is on stage ... Mark Elder is just the right sort of conductor to pick apart the knots of a sprawling 1849 drama about a false messiah ... Elder imbues the highly influential score with both fastidious bel canto delicacy and a rock-solid grip of the set pieces ... The LSO play with panache throughout ... John Osborn's Jean is hard to fault, mastering romantic ardour in a sweet 'voix mixte'".

"If you love Rossini's Comte Ory, enjoy the stronger parts of Rienzi and are open-minded about the apparent dramaturgical gaps in Il Trovatore, you should feel at home with Le Prophète ... It's no small credit to Essen's Aalto Musiktheater to mount such en evidently well-studied performance of this large-scale show. The men do better than the women. While Osborn is fully in command ... Cornetti lacks some of the almost insolent viruosity ... Maestro Carella brings a nice flexibility to the score, making a unity of the piece ... Warmly recommended".