Giacomo Meyerbeer - Le Prophète
Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse - 2017
Peter Flor, Stefano Vizioli, John Osborn, Kate Aldrich, Sofia Fomina, Mikeldi Atxalandabaso, Thomas Dear, Dimitry Ivashchenko, Leonardo Estévez
Culturebox
Opportunities to see a Meyerbeer opera are still rare enough, and rarer still the chance to see a Meyerbeer opera treated appropriately and played well. Once considered to be the foremost opera composer of the early-to-mid 19th century, admired by Wagner and Verdi alike, Meyerbeer's operas can now be hard to appreciate as musical dramas of any kind of depth or substance, but as the Toulouse production of Le Prophète bears out, given the right kind of treatment they can still impress and entertain an audience.
One of the issues with Meyerbeer is that his old-fashioned Grand Opéra style doesn't bear up well to modernism or revisionist reworkings, and it seems to sit better in the period and in the manner it was originally composed. Which can be a drawback in that it leaves Meyerbeer behind as a composer only of historical interest and his works as kind of museum curiosities, but perhaps there's a place for that; there's certainly an audience for it. And perhaps done correctly, there might even be some other qualities and depth that can be drawn out of the work. Le Prophète at least has some promising elements to it in that respect.
Thus far however attempts to drag Meyerbeer into the 20th or 21st century haven't been entirely successful. Despite the wonderfully operatic character of their stirring high melodramas, the historical religious conflict of Les Huguenots proved resistant to modernisation, the gothic horror of Robert le Diable gained little if anything from ironic detachment, and high seas adventure of L'Africaine almost sunk under the weight of an exotic love story blown up to epic proportions. Le Prophète is back in the historical religious melodrama of Les Huguenots, but this time Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse play it more closely to the work's strengths and original intentions.
But certainly not play it down or with any kind of ironic detachment. Set in the 16th century in Dordrecht and Munster, Le Prophète has something of an edge in its drama of popular insurrection and religious conflict. The common people working in the fields under the feudal rule of Count Oberthal are growing increasingly dissatisfied with their enslavement and stirred by a group of Anabaptists wanting to overthrow the ruling order, they are ripe for insurrection. What they really need is a strong charismatic leader to spur them into action and the Anabaptists recognise the character of David in Jean de Leyde, a man who even has Joan of Arc like dreams and visions. He could be the prophet who leads the people to their emancipation.
Jean however is unwilling to join them in their cause as he is engaged to be married to Berthe, and his mother Fidès has just given her blessing to the union. It still needs the permission of Count Oberthal, and in true operatic fashion, the bass Count stands between them and their happiness. Outraged, Jean accepts the role the Anabaptists offer, stirs the people to revolution against the nobility, reignites their passion to finally take Munster by force, and becomes prophet-king, ready to ascend to the throne of Emperor. But is this what he really wanted, and what has happened to his beloved Berthe and his mother Fidès? Well, there it gets all operatic again.
It's almost a shame because Le Prophète is actually quite a dark story, and not just in its violent rebellion and overthrowing of the feudal system. Each of the characters also has a personal reason for their actions that is not entirely idealistic or altruistic. One of the Anabaptists who recruits Jean to their number is actually a disgruntled former employee of the Count Oberthal who holds a grudge against his old master. Jean de Leyde too is motivated by vengeance against the Count for taking Berthe from him. The female roles are less motivated by such slights, but in a way they too demand violent retribution, which of course comes at a cost.
There are possibilities, deeper motivations and lessons to explore in the opera, and Stefano Vizioli's production does that exceptionally well. It retains much of the grand historical epic quality of the work in the simple set designs, allowing space for grand crowd scenes, ceremonial arrangements, with an eye towards stylisation that is never intrusive. Bodies are strung up, prisoners are executed, and the image of a disembowelled cow hanging above the inn where Jean works in Act II and other abstract 'crowning' images hint at that darker side. It doesn't try to impose a dark character on the work as much as work along with its dynamic, even if that means lightening the character during some of Meyerbeer's more over-the-top arrangements.
You almost get the impression that Le Prophète is something of a self-defeating opera. One moment it paints a dark and bloody scene of violence, rape and execution, and the next moment you have a ballet followed by a disguised Oberthal indulging in a drinking song with his enemies. That's fine for fitting in with the dining schedule of the Paris Jockey Club, but it does tend to interrupt dramatic progress. On the other hand this is Grand Opéra, this is the light and shade and the dynamic you expect, and it does have its own peculiar character. Vistoli has no problem playing to this, including the ballet and even playing it up as a ballet when others would cut it or try to rework it to fit in with an overall darker tone.
The justification for this is that Le Prophète is indeed 5 Act Grand Opéra at its finest, Meyerbeer pulling out all the stops and mustering all forces, with huge rousing choruses, ecstatic harps, religious chanting, some solo organ playing and blistering arias. There's confirmation here in Toulouse that aside from gravitas, what Meyerbeer and Grand Opera need above all else is specialist singers who can do it justice. That means someone like John Osborn in the title role, and he handles the demands exceptionally well. Kate Aldrich however gets some of the best arias and situations as Jean's despairing mother Fidès, and she is just amazing here. Sofia Fomina ensures there is no weakness at all in the trio of principals, giving an outstanding performance as the enraptured and devastated Berthe. This is an impressive production and if nothing else, impressive is exactly what you expect from Grand Opéra.
Links: Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse, Culturebox
