Giacomo Meyerbeer - Il crociato in Egitto - "Queste destre" (Bruce Ford)

Meyerbeer is a composer who bugs me quite a lot. He is the composer who epitomizes grand opera, both in a positive (grand stories of war and love set to grand music; lavish casts; spectacular sets) and in a negative sense (some musical banalism; frequent dramatic improbability). By the way, all views, expressed here, are just my opinions, so if you happen to be a fan of Meyerbeer, I do not wish to offend you.

Let us take "Il crociato in Egitto" as an example. It's a spectacular story of a Christian who finds himself among Arabs and who manages to become a part of their community, posing as an Arab (even becoming a fiance of the Sultan's daughter), until his proper fiance and uncle manage to come right into town destroying the set-up. Turmoil and difficult times find their way into the characters' lives. Until, of course, the Sultan relents, peace is agreed with the Knights and Armando and Palmide are reunited. Not exactly Shakespeare, but then should everything be :)? It really comes down to the singing and the music then. And yet, aside from brilliant scenes for the primadonna and the tenor, a wonderfully propelled Quintet and a booming finale to the First Act, the opera, clocking at 3:50 lacks something that makes "Guillaume Tell", for example, brilliant, even at it's 4:00. Still, listening to the wonderful Opera Rara recording of the work one has to be amazed at what a talented cast can do to enliven such a difficult vocally, certainly on the obscure side work.

Surprisingly, I found the appendix on many counts more rewarding than the original edition of "Il crociato", especially the present number.

The cavatina for Adriano follows the usual structure: a march-like opening - a sublime andante - a brilliant cabaletta. Some may find it a bit predictable but I was won over by the sheer brilliance of the piece. Bruce Ford, the primo tenor of Opera Rara for years, manages to sing beautifully, while being absolutely committed to portraying the character behind the music. Hope you enjoy :)!