Les Troyens (Oct. 8, 1983)

Composer: Hector Berlioz
Librettist: Hector Berlioz

Levine; Troyanos, Domingo, Norman, Monk

Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Chorus and Ballet

Approximate running time: 4 hrs. 10 min.

Berlioz’s colossal masterpiece requires stupendous forces—dozens of soloists, enormous chorus, orchestra and ballet, a superb conductor who understands the uniqueness of the score—plus a production that does visual justice to the work. “A stupendous achievement” was one critic’s assessment of Peter Wexler’s inventive production. And with James Levine’s wizardry galvanizing the marvelous all-star cast, this is truly a gem. Plácido Domingo is the legendary hero Aeneas, Jessye Norman the obsessed prophetess Cassandra, and Tatiana Troyanos is Queen Dido, who commits suicide when Aeneas leaves her.