La Juive

Having investigated a later French rarity at Dorset Opera (Massenet's Herodiade), I'm looking forward to the forthcoming concert performance of Halevy's La Juive, a far earlier work. As anyone who reads this blog regularly will know, I keep hoping that someone will create the French equivalent of Opera Rara so that we can hear decent recordings of all the Grand Opera created for the Paris Opera in the 1820's, 1830's and 1840's. Still, this concert gives us the chance to hear Dennis O'Neil in the fabulous tenor role of Eleazar. Rachel is being played by one of the ROH's young artists, Marina Poplavskaya; I will be interested to hear her as Rachel is a Falcon role; Marie Cornelie Falcon created the role and her voice has given rise to a whole genre of dark soprano roles, betwixt and between mezzo and soprano. There is a good introduction to the opera here, in the Guardian