For as long as I can remember I have been a big fan of opera. I am not a huge fan of Meyerbeer but I appreciate him, I see Les Huguenots as his masterpiece, L'Africaine is not a favourite but very listenable and what I've heard of Le Prophete and Dinorah I have really liked.
I love Les Huguenots, love the story, love the characters, love the music(gotta love "O Beau Pays"). This production is good, if not completely outstanding. The costumes and sets are of opulent quality, as are the picture quality, sound and video directing.
The orchestra are clearly passionate and Richard Bonynge conducts with real precision.
The cast are mostly good. This is notable for it being Joan "La Stupenda" Sutherland's swan song, and while she is shaky at times and is past prime, she commands the stage very well, her manners appear very gracious, she looks regal and she apart from some shaky moments manages the singing and colouratura very well.
She has a solid supporting cast, the best being John Pringle, Suzanne Johnston and Amanda Thane, Pringle is commanding, Johnston is superb and the most consistent performer in my opinion and Thane is dazzling, and Anson Austin does pretty well with a very difficult tenor role and is appropriately dashing. Clifford Grant does struggle with some of the French, and while he takes a while to get used to he sings decently, and John Wegner has a voice that is too light for the role. French diction is decent mostly apart from Grant and sometimes Sutherland.
All in all, a good production and a fitting farewell to such a giant talent, but not quite as outstanding a production as the opera deserves. 8/10 Bethany Cox
