Opera 18
Lalo Le Roi D'Ys
Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra
Hungarian National Choir
Gyorgy Vhesegyi
Le Roi D’Ys is one of those operas which has not completely faded from memory due to its presence in the record catalogues. The overture often tuned up in collections of French operatic overture and some of the solo numbers were staples of the early days of 78s. But performances are rare and I certainly had not heard it before.
To start with I thought that it was going to be one of those light operettas based on folk music - it certainly started that way. But it soon developed into much more serious fare with some moments of real drama. Perhaps more than that, however, it is the lyrical music which really made the greatest impression. The Aubade was a favourite of many lyric tenors and has a real charm. But there are plenty of other solo items and ensembles which make this a really enjoyable piece to listen to. It is perhaps not quite of the first rank - but as this project shows, and I hope will continue to show, there are plenty of other operas which don’t quite make the cut but which still some hours of pleasurable listening.
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