Recordings Review: A Horse With No Name

John Nelson's new Les Troyens is a modern classic.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Can they all fit inside the horse? John Nelsons and his chorus, orchestra and soloists record Les Troyens.
Photo from the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg © 2018 Erato/WBC

Hector Berlioz' Les Troyens remains the composer's greatest achievement, although the composer never lived to see a complete performance of the work.  With serious problems of length, casting and staging, it was not until 1921 that Les Troyens was staged complete, as intended, in five acts in a long, single evening.  This live in concert recording by John Nelson and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg brings new life and vitality to this mammoth and misunderstood masterpiece.

Metropolitan Opera Preview: Les Troyens

The Met brings back Berlioz' classical epic.
by Paul Pelkonen

The Trojan Horse in Act I of Les Troyens in the Met's production. That's Deborah Voigt at the left.
Photo by Marty Sohl © 2003 The Metropolitan Opera.

A snarky opera commentator might call this revival The Return of the Horse. The Met brings back Francesca Zambello's stunning production of Hector Berlioz' longest opera, a sweeping adaptation of Virgil's Aeneid. And yes it's over five hours long.

When it premiered in 1858, Berlioz' five-act tragédie-lyrique was split into two halves La prise de Troi ("The Sack of Troy") and Les Troyens a Carthage. ("The Trojans at Carthage.") The Theatre-Lyrique (now the Chatelet) in Paris opted to perform the second half, with heavy cuts. La Prise remained unperformed until 1890. The complete opera had to wait until 1921. The Met plays the whole five acts. The entire show clocks in at about five-and-a-half hours, depending on the conductor--in this case Met Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi.

Troyens is Berlioz' most ambitious work, using repeated melodies and themes to retell the story of Enee (Aeneas), his escape from the burning city of Troy. The second half follows the Trojans across the Mediterranean and recounts Enee's his disastrous love affair with Didon, (Dido) the Queen of Carthage.  Marcello Giordani armors up as Enee. Deborah Voigt takes off her Valkyrie wings to utter warnings as Cassandra. Susan Graham sings Didon, a role created in this production by the late Lorraine Hunt Lieberson. Fabio Luisi conducts.

Les Troyens opens December 13. Please note, start time for (most) evening performances is 6pm.