These extracts from the German-born Jewish cosmopolite Meyerbeer’s four grand opéras and two opéras-comiques, recorded in Sofia, show his ability to combine German orchestration with Italian bel canto and French drama in a heady mixture that excites, moves and charms.

The husband-and-wife team of soprano Hjördis Thébault and baritone Pierre-Yves Pruvot pass with flying colours challenging arias demanding both agility and dramatic heft; like Handel and Rossini before him, Meyerbeer wrote for the best singers in Europe. Thébault’s dark voice and early career as a mezzo give her the range to sing both the lovely Italianate Robert, toi que j’aime, with its harp triplets and haunting cor anglais accompaniment, and Sélika’s death under the poisonous manchineel tree, a scene for a dramatic soprano.  

Although a baritone, Pruvot is as comfortable singing a bass part as he is the optional high notes in the Adamastor ballad or the wild O puissante magie.Conductor Didier Talpain has the sense of rhythm, texture and colour necessary for Meyerbeer, apparent in the brilliant chorus from Robert le Diable, the luminous entr’acte for strings from Dinorah, and the eerie conversation between two clarinets at the start of Le Prophète or the same opera’s famous Valse des Patineurs. A treat for all lovers of French opera.