Halévy: La Juive

Isokoski (Artist), Shicoff (Artist), Halevy (Composer), Young (Conductor) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Conductor: Young
• Composer: Halevy
• Audio CD (June 4, 2002)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B000059R76
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #351,407 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Though a highly successful composer and musician during his lifetime, Jacques Fromental Halévy (1799-1862) is remembered today for only one of his 36 operas. La Juive, premiered in 1835 with all the spectacular pageantry demanded of a "grand opera," was an instant triumph; admired by such disparate musicians as Rossini, Wagner, and Mahler, it remained an operatic staple for 100 years, but it has been conspicuously absent from the repertoire since then. This live recording by Austrian Radio (ORF) documents its 1999 revival at the Vienna State Opera. Why the neglect? The answer lies in Eugéne Scribe's libretto. Set during the 1414 Council of Constance, when religious fanaticism made liaisons between Christians and Jews a capital crime, it adds a new twist to the theme of illicit love between a prince and a commoner: Rachel is Jewish, Prince Léopold a Christian disguised as a Jew. However, though he callously betrays both her and his loving royal wife and infant son, it is the Jews' death the populace demands with blatant cruelty; Léopold is saved when Rachel retracts her revelation of his guilt, while she and her father Eléazar are thrown into a cauldron of boiling water.

What attracted Halévy, himself a Jew, to this exercise in rampant anti-Semitism? True, the libretto contained all the elements of high drama--filial love, passion, treachery, vengeance, sacrifice--and Halévy exploited them to the hilt, making the stock characters and their emotions and relationships human and moving. The opera is very long and never performed uncut, and this recording is no exception. The problem is what to eliminate. The innumerable, often interminable recitatives are musically weak but crucial to the plot, so only the ballets and some choruses are omitted. The music is uneven, sometimes rather trite, but keeps getting better, reaching its highest points in the characters' confrontations. Clearly, Halévy felt stronger about affairs of the heart than affairs of state and church. The orchestration is masterly, colorful and inventive, creating mood and atmosphere, even using instruments, notably the horns, for "leitmotives."

La Juive is considered a tenor's opera for its two spectacular tenor roles. Unfortunately, Neil Shicoff and Zoran Todorovic, though dramatically convincing, often sound strained and labored in the fiendishly high tessitura, so this recording belongs to the sopranos: Regina Schörg and especially Soile Isokoski soar and glow with riveting, heart-breaking intensity. Bass Alastair Miles is dignified but literally out of his depth in the lowest register. Not surprisingly, the orchestra's contribution is invaluable, both in its supporting role and the instrumental numbers. But what makes the performance unique is that it marked not only Simone Young's first premiere, but the first appearance of a woman conductor at the Vienna Opera. --Edith Eisler

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars badly advertised & without a libretto, but worth hearing, December 11, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Halévy: La Juive (Audio CD)

This is from a broadcast of the premiere of La Juive in Vienna in 1999 that was repeated in 2003 at the Metropolitan Opera.
The American tenor Neil Shicoff sings the leading role of Eleazar, but for some reason the album or the advertising presents the bass Istvan Gati instead. He sang a secondary role.

Another mystery is why the album puts the conductor's name above those of the leading singers. She is Simone Young, and doesn't seem to have the fame to warrant the billing. It was this strange way of billing that made it so hard for me to find this album when it was released. Practically speaking anyone who buys it is either determined to own every French opera, or else they are looking for the work of Neil Shicoff or Soile Isokowski, not Young or Gati.

This may not be everyone's idea of the definitive recording of La Juive, but then there never was one. It is a good deal better than the other two that are available, even with Jose Carreras singing Eleazar on one of them. According to some critics, Shicoff doesn't have the 'right' voice for the role. Neither did Carreras. Of Shicoff it can be said that he is a vastly more effective actor, and Eleazar is a role that demands a great actor as well as a great singer.

To appreciate Neil Shicoff fully one really should be able to see as well as hear him. His Eleazar is a character that is as unforgetable as Rigaletto. He may be the best singer-actor alive today. His Eleazar will stay with you once you've become acquainted with him, even if you don't find the music familiar.

There should be a commercial video of this performance; it has a breath-stopping, tremendous finale. Soile Iskoski sings a lovely Rachel. The rest of the cast may not be quite up to what Halevy might have wanted.

There was a telecast of La Juive in Vienna,in 2003. If opera lovers had their rights we'd see it, and more such telecasts on commercial tapes or DVD.

13 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Where is my libretto?, April 29, 2005

By 

J. Cattapan (Cincinnati, OH USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Halévy: La Juive (Audio CD)

I know this is all about the music, but I do expect brand new box-set to have the libretto, period, no excuses, no questions asked. I've seen this production live, so I know the artists are of great quality, but I would not recommend this set without the libretto. I would not have bought it without the libretto, period. RCA should make it up to us somehow. Amazon people: You should have a way to indicate CLEARLY if the libretto is included or not, this is important stuff for us, opera lovers.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Great Live Recording of an Old War Horse, January 4, 2004

By 

Timothy Kearney (Haverhill, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Halévy: La Juive (Audio CD)

Many people were enthused when the Metropolitan Opera announced that LA JUIVE would return to the repertoire in the 2003-2004 season. After the broadcast, many listeners were not disappointed and searched for the recording. Fortunately there is a live recording of the work that is from the same production used at the Met.

LA JUIVE was a once popular opera that faded from the repertoire of most opera companies. For many years the opera was the Metropolitan Opera's equivalent to the Boston Red Sox's "Curse of the Bambino" since it was the last role sung by legendary tenor Enrico Caruso. More than likely the opera's few recent performances are due to its length, the need for five major performers to stage the work, including two top notch tenors, and the complexity of staging a work that was the nineteenth century's equivalent of today's PHANTOM OF THE OPERA or LES MISERABLES.

The plot is complicated, which is characteristic of many French Grand Operas. It deals with Eleazar, a Jewish man who adopts a young girl he names Rachel. The two are outcasts due to their Jewish heritage. A young man falls in love with Rachel. His name is Leopold but he calls himself Samuel. He is Christian, married, and a prince, but he keeps all these things to himself. His wife, Princess Eudoxie wants to buy him a special gift and approaches Eleazar about buying a piece of jewelry that once belonged to the Emperor Constantine. In the meantime Rachel begins to work as a maid for the princess, not knowing Leopold's true identity. When Eudoxie presents the gift to Leopold, Rachel exposes her relationship with Leopold. Cardinal Brogni, the local religious leader condemns Leopold to death for cheating and Eleazar and Rachel to death for being Jewish. As Rachel dies, Eleazar informs Brogni that Rachel is his child. Brogni only became a priest after he believed his wife and child had tragically died, but Eleazar's adopted child is Brogni's long lost daughter.

The RCA Red Seal set is from a live recording taped from a then new production in Vienna. This is the same production that was recently broadcast from the Met in December 2003. The cast is strong, and the performance is well suited for recording. Neil Shicoff sings the role of Eleazar. While his performance is not as strong at certain points as Carreras' interpretation in the studio recording, his interpretation has depth and feeling which gives the Shicoff interpretation a bit of an advantage. In many ways, depth and feeling are what make this set so admirable. Since the singers are involved in the performance, there is a difference in the sound that excuses any small flaws or background noises.

It is likely that most people reading this review are deciding whether to purchase this recording or the studio recording with Carreras from Philips. Since the live performance has many small portions that are not included in the studio recording, I would select this set. Since this is the production that could actually revive this old war horse, it could become a historical collectors' item.