It’s a big and glittery score that contains thrill, intrigue, and bombast well beyond what the oft excerpted “Il est doux, il est bon” leads you to believe. (Though as far as I’m concerned, that is still the most romantic aria ever written – who hasn’t gone puppy eyed thinking “En écoutant sa voix, […] mon coeur s’est calmé!” about someone before?) And its biblical subject matter would make it a nice complement to Strauss‘s adaptation of the same story in a one season. The Washington Concert Opera performance in 2016 was one of the most exciting outings at the opera that I can remember; I’ll raise a ‘Jézabel!’ to its eventual revival.