Donizetti never got to finish writing Le Duc d’Albe, thanks to the vacillations of the Paris Opéra’s impresario, Léon Pillet – something the composer regretted until his death. However, the first two acts survive almost intact. Those are what Opera Rara gives us and, under Mark Elder’s propulsive baton, the highlights keep coming. There’s a strong duet for the Duke, leader of the Spanish oppressors, and Henri, the Flemish “orphan” hero whose father is, of course, hiding in plain sight; a patriotic chorus worthy of Verdi; and an emotionally wide-ranging scene for Henri and Hélène, the vengeful heroine who is holed up in a brewery – this is Belgium, after all. Michael Spyres’s clarion tenor shines throughout as Henri. Angela Meade’s soprano is squally in Hélène’s act one rabble-rousing, but commanding in all the right ways in act two, and Laurent Naouri and David Stout are excellent as the Duke and his snarling henchman.
