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For me, Henry VIII is definitely first rate, comparable to Samson et Dalila- all of the characters spring to life, through great music forged to a fine libretto. Unlike the triumphant end of Samson et Dalila, the end of Henry VIII is chilling, and that is a big part of its power! The video of the 1991 production (on Kultur) though somewhat underfunded (and it shows) is worth seeing and illustrated that an excellent opera Henry VIII is. As for Les Barbares, Saint-Saens seemed to be working toward a more austere music palette- he writes of a perfect balance between all of the aspects of opera, and I am not sure that it works- though it may have in the theater (for which it was written). Saint-Saens claimed that Helene was (among) his best works- he served as his own librettist and it too is beautiful, but is about development of musical themes without big standout melodies. Saint-Saens mentioned that "others would achieve" the goal of perfect balance- and indeed it may be that Debussy did, in Pelleas et Melisande ... much to Saint-Saens consternation! Without sounding like a broken record, (LP!) I am finding Etienne Marcel to be full of drama and melodic- the libretto has problems- it is a tragic story that has a happy ending, which is a form that is no longer in style.

The 1994 Etienne Marcel recorded quality is somewhat variable, not as good as the recording of Henry VIII of 1989, but completely listenable. The tenor's voice suffers somewhat as certain notes tend to blast. I guess serviceable would be the best description. I find that the shortcomings of the recording does not impede enjoyment of the music.

Etienne Marcel, however, is also beautiful music- clearly more lyrical than the impressive Les Barbares. The problems may be with the libretto, but there is much highly melodic music- an ecstatic duet for the soprano and tenor, fine ensembles and great choruses. Tchaikovsky's criticism is, frankly, preposterous. I am listening the Etienne Marcel now, the cast in the 1994 recording is very good- again Alain Fondary with Michele Legrand as Etienne's daughter, Beatrice. I think that once we have a first rate recording of Henry VIII that Etienne Marcel should be next in line! But, Henry VIII has the better libretto, permitting the development of real characters- splendidly achieved by Saint-Saens.

I agree- Henry VIII is a top flight masterpiece! I love it. As Saint-Saens once said, he could not understand how it was not played everywhere. A great opera. We really need a first rate studio recording- Renee Fleming would be an excellent Catherine- the ideal Henry existed in the person of Alain Fondary, happily captured opposite the equally perfect Francoise Pollet as Catherine-in 1989. I believe that they have both retired.

I have been listening to my new recording of Les Barbares and it is a superb work! Every time that I listen to it I discover new and beautiful ideas in the music. May I add that "symphonically conceived" (in my opinion) is that the orchestra and voices are all employed in delineating the action and bringing the characters to life, with the voice first among equals; using musical processes that one would hear in symphonic music. With Saint-Saens, Liszt's concept of transformation of themes is always a vital component, and this seems to be characteristic of all of the Saint-Saens operas that I have heard so far. Saint-Saens bristled at being called a Wagnerian since he knew and understood Wagner, but was not swept away by him as so many French composers were (Chabrier probably the most notable example). I can understand that the first audience for Les Barbares would have been somewhat baffled, but this is a serious, even gloomy work but very strong. I am so glad that it has been recorded and very well presented, with the disks set in a small book. The soprano is superb; the mezzo a little too much vibrato for me, but everyone seems to be able to handle their assignments well. May I suggest that Premieropera Italy is a great source for operas of Saint-Saens (I have just ordered Etienne Marcel and Phryne- the latter from 1960 which is on Youtube; they have both recordings of Henry VIII too) and many other Unsung Composers.

May I recommend Saint-Saens' Henry VIII a magnificent powerful work. The characters are all powerfully drawn and the music composed in a symphonic manner. There are 2 recordings available, neither perfect, but the broadcast recording with Alain Fondary and Francoise Pollet is generally superb. Available at PremierOperaItaly. thank you! Looking forward to Les Barbares!

Thank you for the heads up! The Saint-Saens is a wonderful work though rarely heard (a fine performance on Naxos, with the indispensable Piano Quartet op.41; conversely the Nash Ensemble's performance on Hyperion is a huge disappointment- sounds like a rehearsal run through). The performers listed for this new release are all excellent. The Vierne and Widor are excellent pieces too. Their great fame as organ composers has relegated their chamber works to the side; so pleased they are being investigated by this fine group of musicians.

[Phaeton]

Saint-Saens' Phaeton is one of the great unsung tone poems. Beautifully organized, and very exciting, there is this gorgeous central section depicting the Sun chariot soaring across the heavens- it has been recorded occasionally, often played too fast. The Pierre Dervaux recording, which I find to be the best, is available on an EMI disk entitled the "Best of Saint-Saens" which is a collection of what EMI had in their archives, in this case quite a number of wonderful recordings. Oddly the Dervaux recording of La jeunesse d'Hercule is not included, another superb tone poem and the longest of Saint-Saens' four. All four were issued together on an Angel LP, and beautifully played by the then relatively new Orchestre de Paris. Chausson's Vivienne is also very beautiful -arresting themes and orchestration and has a marvelous conclusion where the sorceress Vivienne puts Merlin to sleep. The only recording that I know of is on Erato- a fine recording too.

Do you think that tone poems are being edged out of symphony concerts? it seems that in general, tone poems are less often played in live concerts; thank heavens for recordings! 

Three superb and unsung tone poems are Saint-Saens' Phaeton and Jeunesse d'Hercule and Chausson's Vivienne. It seems to me that the entire realm of tone poems is being pushed out of concert halls, we are left with the consolation of recordings. The recordings of Dervaux of the Saint-Saens four tone poems remains the finest, in my opinion, particularly the splendid Phaeton.

I was a member of the Glazounov Society too, and remember the President, Donald Venturini. Donald, unfortunately passed away some years ago. The Sonoma address was Donald's home. The secretary's name was Carl Core, as I recall, but after a short time, the Society disbanded. It never made it onto the Internet, which would certainly have been a major support for such an organization. The good news is that today, all of the Glazounov symphonies are frequently recorded and so much of his music is available, which was not the case before. So, in a sense, Donald led us to success!