Here's a rarity. This was Halévy's last opera, left unfinished at his death. His son-in-law Georges Bizet completed it (and then it wasn't performed until after Bizet's own death--the Meyerbeer/Halévy style of grand opera having more or less gone out of fashion). There's some confusion about how much of it is Halévy and how much Bizet, but from what I understand it seems like more the former. I doubt they'd be credited as co-equals, as they often are, if Bizet hadn't eclipsed Halévy's fame. Nobody remembers the name of the guy who completed Lulu (Friedrich Cerha). Still, you've gotta figure Bizet's name is the only reason it's available on disc at all, as opposed to any of Halévy's other grand operas that aren't La Juive, so just accept it.
What's an opera about Noah's ark going to involve? you might ask. As presented in Genesis, it's kind of a thin story, isn't it? Will there be comical interludes with the family looking for wombats to bring on the ark? Will it include Ham being cursed for laughing at his naked drunken father and that's why slavery's A-okay? Uh...not quite.
Noe's son Sem is coming back home with his new daughter-in-law Ebba, which is great and all; what's not great is that his other daughter-in-law Saraï is upset because her husband Cham has decided he doesn't love her anymore and doesn't want to be with her, and will not be dissuaded of this decision. He's actually in love with Ebba now, and tries to use his bandit goons to take her from her husband. While this is going on, there's an angel named Ituriel who is in love with Saraï. He's torn between returning to Heaven and forsaking God for this mortal love, but he ultimately chooses the latter. She resists his advances at first, but eventually gives in, and he takes her off to rule "the fallen city of Hénoch," where there's non-stop orgiastic dancing. Cham eventually shows up looking for shelter, and still refuses to take her back. Ituriel whips up an ever-greater frenzy (his fallenness by now being due to much more than just being in love with a human). Ham and the other brother Japheth show up. Finally, Noé appears and damns everyone. His family escapes and he summons a great flood. They all sing in praise of God. The end.
WHOA, I thought. Admittedly I'm not the most sedulous of Bible scholars, but you'd think I'd remember this stuff if it were canonical, wouldn't you...? I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I actually went back to the original story to see if there was anything whatsoever that would have been suggestive of this opera's story. Nope! If there IS some sort of apocryphal source for any of this, I have no idea. There IS an angel Ithuriel, "a being mentioned in the writings of the Kabbala and in 16th century conjuring books," but that's nothing to do with this. Sure, there are plenty of operas that take liberties with historical of mythological source material, but somehow, Bible fan fiction like this just feels extra-bizarre.
Still, I thought this was pretty great, in part because of its general unpredictability (although I do have to note that one of the main things in the opera seems to be Cham's redemption...and then he's never redeemed. He just goes with his dad because otherwise he'll drown, apparently. This seems like a pretty significant failing)...and in part, just because the music slaps. The orgy scene is reminiscent of the Ballet of the Nuns in Robert le diable or the Bacchanale from Samson et Dalila--both good things to be. A lot of characteristically grand-opera-esque arias and duets also. There's some good ol' noise here. Also, Anne-Sophie Schmidt absolutely kills as Saraï (it's a sad sign of the times that when you google her, the results are dominated by stories about her and other women accusing the conductor Charles Dutoit of molestation).
This production is, it should first be noted, on a region 2 DVD. Region-locked DVDs are a hideous and shameful blight. Fortunately, most opera DVDs are region-free, but occasionally you find an old one like this that's so afflicted. Once you get past THAT, the actual production is...interesting. The first act is a very traditional, somewhat kitschy Ten Commandments/Ben Hur type thing...but as things proceed, it gets more modern. The bandits have guns. The orgy participants are wearing contemporary clothes. Ituriel looks like an alien from the original Star Trek, which is...maybe not the all-time greatest choice. The flood is represented by a video montage of actual flooding. And in the end, Noé releases an actual, living dove into the theater. This is the second live bird I've seen in an opera recently (or maybe ever), after La Salustina. Birds leading interesting lives. I have nothing meaningful to say about that. Ups and downs, but I thought on the whole the production was enjoyable.
Yeah, by all means, see this if you can find a copy of the extremely out-of-print DVD. I would like to see a serious grand-opera revival. I feel it is a neglected subgenre.
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