Giacomo Meyerbeer: Les Huguenots [Ghyslaine Raphanel, Francoise Pollet,Richard Leech, Boris Martinovich,Giles Cachemaille, Nicola Ghiuselev; Cyril Diederich] (With complete French libretto and English translation)
 
Editorial Reviews
On Erato 45027; 4 CD's; Here is a live 1988 performance of Meyerbeer's masterpiece. The sound is excellent, and the singers are superb. There are some minor cuts, making this an excellent performing edition, with 3 hours and 50 minutes of music. French style is present throughout and, in many ways, this surpasses the only other commercially released complete recording (the one with Sutherland) on a major label. As Raoul, Leech does a very fine job, and he sings with rich tone. While he's not Gedda, he is far superior to anyone we have heard in this role in the last 35 years or so. The rest of the cast pretty much equals out, though Francoise Pollet has much more French style than Arroyo (who is still pretty good), and Sutherland is, well, Sutherland, which is no discredit to Raphanel. The baritones and basses are quite good as well, with Nicola Ghiuselev, Gilles Cachemaille, and Boris Martinovich standing out. To top it all off, Danielle Borst is a delight as Urbain. The conducting here is fine (Diederich keeps his orchestra and singers together quite well), and the minor cuts turn the recording into a theatrical event rather than a recording of a scholarly edition. This belongs in every collection. This set includes a booklet with background notes, a French libretto, and an English translation.
 
Product details
Package Dimensions : 5.59 x 4.92 x 0.39 inches
Manufacturer : Erato
Run time : 3 hours and 50 minutes
Date First Available : June 6, 2013
Label : Erato
ASIN : B00D8LOPJ0
Number of discs : 4
Best Sellers Rank: #230,347 in CDs & Vinyl (See Top 100 in CDs & Vinyl)
#9,024 in Rap & Hip-Hop (CDs & Vinyl)
#9,364 in Opera & Vocal (CDs & Vinyl)
#29,472 in Classical (CDs & Vinyl)