Meyerbeer’s ‘Le Prophète’ from 1849 sounds like it’s ripped-from-the-headlines at Bard SummerScape

Associated Press

ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. (AP) — A demagogue and religious fanatics impose a theocracy. What sounds like a ripped-from-the-headlines 21st century story portrayed by Giacomo Meyerbeer 175 years ago in “Le Prophète” was brought back in a compelling production by Bard’s SummerScape festival. A success at Paris’ Salle Le Peletier in 1849, “Le Prophète” became a world-wide hit only to disappear as Meyerbeer’s grand operas lost favor in the 20th and 21st centuries. Bard’s staging, which opened Friday at the 900-seat Sosnoff Theater and runs through Aug. 4, is the first major U.S. production since the Metropolitan Opera’s performances in 1977 and ’79.