Every singer except Michael Spyres is French, and his pronunciation is quite good as well. Better yet, every single voice, down to the smallest comprimario roles, is a pleasure to hear: clear, steady, elegant, pleasant in timbre, in tune, and on the beat. Laurence Equilbey is in full command from the podium of all her forces, leading with energy and grace, and the orchestra and chorus are in stellar form.

The set is plain, with video projections, and the costumes mostly monochrome. Bobée treats the drama with respect...The real weight of the action falls on the shoulders of Rodolphe. Michael Spyres is first-rate: assertive in ‘Du Seigneur, pale fiancée’, lyrical in ‘Un jour plus pur’, he sings throughout with generous, openthroated tone. And Laurence Equilbey conducts her choral and orchestral forces with passion.

The picture clarity, camera work and sound reproduction on this Naxos Blu-ray disc are all of state-of-the-art quality. A stunning account.

In 2018 critical enthusiasm for the Opéra Comique’s Michael Spyres was unrestrained—and, as the film so splendidly shows, merited in every word. His is an artistic personality in which the fusion of vocal and dramatic powers is both complete and unfaltering...He’s also a generously communicative member of an otherwise predominantly youthful cast full of attractive francophone talents..A thoroughly rewarding DVD, in sum, easy to recommend to anyone with a taste for Romantic-opera adventure.

Spyres excels as the hero, the Bohemian knight faced with the classic opera problem: family duty or politics stopping marriage to a loved one. It doesn’t help that the ghost of a nun, waiting to avenge her murder, has tricked him into a vow of fidelity. Neither loved one nor nun, however, gets the vocal flights lapped up so winningly by Devos as Rodolphe’s punkish sidekick, Arthur.

Spyres is on top form, with endless legato, voix mixte and high notes. Vannina Santoni is in full lyric flood as the soprano Agnès, and Jérôme Boutillier glowers as the baddie. Jodie Devos is feisty as Arthur, the page. Marion Lebègue’s spectral nun is all the better for being played straight, but perhaps a little more volume wouldn’t have gone amiss. Laurence Equilbey’s conducting is balanced and energetic.