The Idealist

There are rarities, and then there is Guercœur -one of only two operas completed by Albéric Magnard in his lifetime- which disappeared almost completely after its posthumous première in 1931. Its neglect, inversely proportional to its qualities, is wholly unjust: its score is satisfyingly late-romantic in its orchestration and thematic intensity, while its Janus-like handling of the drama draws upon the classical tradition of divine personifications looking dispassionately on the actions of humankind, while simultaneously attempting to tackle the political realities of its own time. Despite a moderately high-profile recording in the mid-1980s under Michel Plasson, the work remained absent from the stage until a revival in 2019 and another in 2024.

Yet there has never been a better time for Guercœur to make a comeback. The story, which…