NPR World of Opera
Les Huguenots, by Giacomo Meyerbeer

It's been said that there are three subjects best avoided at all costs in polite company -- things you wouldn't want to bring up at a cocktail party, for example, for fear of poisoning the cordial atmosphere. The subjects are politics, religion, and sex. Now, it's hard to imagine company more polite and cordial than your average opera audience, right? And what about an opera audience in Paris? Surely they'd be the most genteel of all.

Well, you might think so, but that doesn't seem to be the case. At least it wasn't in Giacomo Meyerbeer's day. His opera, Les Huguenots, is about as French as an opera can get, written in the finest of Parisian traditions, replete with all those Grand Opera bells and whistles. Yet, it's all about a dire religious conflict, infused with politics, and garnished with a healthy dollop of sex to keep the whole thing lively. This is entertainment for "polite company?"

Sure it is. Either that, or an opera audience can't be considered polite. Think about it, when's the last time you tuned in NPR World of Opera, or went to the opera house, and heard something that wasn't brimming with at least two of those three, supposedly delicate subjects. We figure Meyerbeer was giving his genteel, French audience exactly what they -- and all other opera-lovers -- seem to crave. Maybe the opera audience really isn't so polite as it's cracked up to be.

Or, maybe Meyerbeer's opera isn't as sensational as it's subject matter might suggest. In any case, you can hear it for yourself this week on NPR World of Opera, with host Steve Curwood, in a performance by conductor Eve Queler and Opera Orchestra of New York.

LINKS:

Opera Orchestra of New York
Meyerbeer.com Les Huguenots page including a synopsis
Meyerbeer.com review of this week's Opera Orchestra of New York performance
NPR's At the Opera