Meyerbeer - L'Africaine / Arena, Domingo, Verrett, San Francisco Opera
This is both rare and well-done: a sadly neglected grand  opera, as spectacular in its own way asAidaorTurandot, in a  production that is not likely to be surpassed in the foreseeable future.  Meyerbeer'sL'Africaineis remembered today almost exclusively for a  single aria that Enrico Caruso recorded in Italian, "O Paradiso," sung by  Placido Domingo in the original French in this production. It also offers an  intensely tangled plot, exotic dancing, pagan rituals, a dizzying storm at sea  and shipwreck, and a wealth of flowing melody.The story is a fictionalized treatment of the adventures of  the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama (Domingo), with a love triangle  involving  Selika, queen of Madagascar (Shirley Verrett), and a Portuguese  noblewoman, Ines (Ruth Ann Swenson). The whole cast is strong; Domingo is  excellent, and Verrett often dominates the screen.--Joe McLellan