Accessibility Tools

  • Content scaling 100%
  • Font size 100%
  • Line height 100%
  • Letter spacing 100%

La Juive

Halévy’s rare and controversial opera
by
ABR Arts 11 March 2022

La Juive

Halévy’s rare and controversial opera
by
ABR Arts 11 March 2022
Diego Torre as Eléazar and the Opera Australia Chorus in Opera Australia’s 2022 production of <em>La Juive</em> at the Sydney Opera House (photo by Prudence Upton)
Diego Torre as Eléazar and the Opera Australia Chorus in Opera Australia’s 2022 production of La Juive at the Sydney Opera House (photo by Prudence Upton)

To say that Fromental Halévy’s opera La Juive (The Jewess) is a problematic work is a gross understatement. From the time of its successful première at the Paris Opéra in 1835 – it is one of the finest examples of French Grand Opera – it has been surrounded by controversy, periods of neglect, particularly during the 1930s, and even outright banning; its subject matter has been found confronting and frequently highly polarising. Although considered blatantly anti-Semitic by some, it was the finest opera of a successful Jewish composer.

Comment (1)

  • Excellent review. I read it when I returned him from experiencing this opera. I couldn’t agree more with your analysis. Thanks for putting my thoughts and feelings in writing.
    Posted by Joanne Matthews
    24 March 2022

Leave a comment

If you are an ABR subscriber, you will need to sign in to post a comment.

If you have forgotten your sign in details, or if you receive an error message when trying to submit your comment, please email your comment (and the name of the article to which it relates) to ABR Comments. We will review your comment and, subject to approval, we will post it under your name.

Please note that all comments must be approved by ABR and comply with our Terms & Conditions.