It’s very brave of any opera company to undertake a performance of this sprawling work, one that requires a bevy of virtuoso singers, a huge chorus with plenty to do, and an orchestra whose stamina and wind section had better be remarkable. The Martina Franca Festival, where this was recorded in August of 2002, is indeed brave: they’ve given us the French Lucie de Lammermoor and Le Trouvère, the original Macbeth, Rossini’s pastiches Robert Bruce and Ivanhoé, and more.
Les Huguenots is available on CD in at least three performances: one (previously “private”) from La Scala with Corelli, Sutherland, and Simionato; one studio recording with Sutherland and Bonynge (Decca); and one from Montpellier (Erato), which probably was a combination of studio and live performances. Precisely where this work got the reputation for being a great opera is beyond me. It’s impossibly long-winded, the melodies are short and unmemorable, and the grand scenes for the men–oaths, battle cries, and the like–never are as stirring as they ought to be. Granted, Urbain’s arias are charming and the entire Raoul/Valentine duet is wonderful, but when you realize that the opera runs almost four hours (probably a bit more, uncut), you’re left with a lot of dross. No performance I’ve ever heard has left me feeling any differently, and this new one hasn’t changed my mind (the Sutherland/Corelli recording live from La Scala is helped by its exciting singing and severe cuts).
This also has cuts, but not many, and while all of the singers are up to their very difficult roles to one degree or another, overall it’s a mixed blessing. Best is Annalisa Raspagliosi’s Valentine, sung with assurance and big, dramatic tone. Desiree Rancatore’s Marguerite is filled with fluid coloratura and lovely high pianissimos, if not consistently appealing tone, noble mien, or anything resembling a trill. Sara Allegretta’s Urbain is perky and full of knowing allure, albeit with some really poor coloratura in her second aria. Bass Soon-Won Kang has the authority for Marcel but not quite the necessary vocal security or cavernous low tones, and Marcin Bronikowski does a good job with the Comte de Nevers. The really bad news is the crucial tenor role, Raoul, sung with huge volume and huger self-confidence by Warren Mok–but he is a clumsy singer and it’s as far from bel canto as humanly possible. He makes it up to the high-Cs and D-flats with virility, but you wouldn’t want to be left in the dark with his sound, and he has wild pitch problems in the middle of his voice.
The ensemble work is superb; none of the finales falls apart, with chorus, soloists, and orchestra in excellent accord. Conductor Renato Palumbo has cut the score judiciously (we still get three hours and 15 minutes of music) and is to be commended for leading an exciting performance–but there is an overall gracelessness to it that probably was not as discernible on stage. The chorus and orchestra are fine and the sound is excellent. In all, this is an honest, stirring representation of the opera, but the out-of-print Sutherland (Decca) is better (the Raoul is another dud, however) as is the Erato. The La Scala performance is in a class by itself.
