Spectacular but incoherent
Jethro Manjay | Carlisle, PA United States | 07/25/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)
"LA JUIVE is a spectacular French grand opera not unlike LES HUGUENOTS, within a historical context, and with a well crafted libretto by Scribe.
This recording is very good, with Carreras in poor vocal estate (but adequately so, as a tormented old man), two classy and well differentiated ladies, a good bass, and a bright-voiced second tenor (whose French is un peu bizarre).
If you like a lot of ensembles where all the principals participate, one after the other: "I shudder, I tremble, the ground is opening under me" and so forth, with chorus and lots of percussion, this is for you. However, the various components do not make a coherent whole. The transitions between numbers are inane and jarring, as if the whole score had been edited by a student.
For 21 Century audiences, LA JUIVE is all about form. The emotion generated, while genuine, is admiration for some of the architecture (not identification) plus a certain dose of camp. If you want an opera about father/daughter revelations, listen to SIMON BOCCANEGRA and you'll see the difference."