Giacomo Meyerbeer: Margherita D’Anjou – Fabio Luisi

   in Opera Now (May, 2018)
Less fascinating is the same composer’s Margherita d’Anjou, an earlier work from his Italian period. A curious plotline sees a widowed Margaret of Anjou adopting disguise to avoid the Duke of Gloucester (Richard III), as well as the attentions of a French duke, whose suspicious wife also disguises herself to have a good snoop. So, when this production from Martina Franca starts with a contemporary catwalk show, and continues to blend the mad world of fashion with that of reality TV, I think that more is gained than lost. All the disguises and extravagant personalities come into sharper focus in Alessandro Talevi’s witty production: Margharita runs a couture house; the …