We saw this concert relayed live on France 3 in Marseille whilst enjoying Terry's excellent French cooking and some wines I had chosen. Being able to do that in Marseille is great fun.
The excerpts on YouTube give very much the highlights from a 3½ hour concert: the YouTubers haven't bothered with the French variety performances nor the French presenter who appeared incredibly self-indulgent. Nor France 3's ham-fisted presentation.
The Roman theatre setting is fantastic, comparable only to the amphitheatre in Verona and the the caracalla Baths in Rome (I saw Aida there in 1977, with elephants). The best bits will quite possibly make an excellent DVD. It was a wonderful early summer evening... but I wonder about the traffic queue afterwards. We just enjoyed a Génépi! Shame too that the programme is only lollipops... The evenings of the main programme this summer include Aida, Rigoletto and some orchestral concerts but the ticket prices are very discouraging, even compared to London opera ticket prices.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08xPNJC_COo&feature=related
Verdi Aïda Gloria all'egitto
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98bxpqld7I0&feature=related
Puccini : Turandot, Nessun Dorma by Jean-Pierre Furlan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFL-wZa0f8M
Puccini : Tosca, Vissi d'arte by Catherine Naglestad
and use YouTube's related feature or search onChorégies Orange 2011 to see the other cuts that have been uploaded