In The Lives of the Great Composers, Harold C. Schonberg titled his chapter on Giacomo Meyerbeer “Spectacle, Spectacle, and More Spectacle.” A Meyerbeer opera—built to never bore—included brilliant vocal parts (with arias not too long), always a ballet, “massed superfortissimos,” and formidable choruses. Meyerbeer’s betters thought his music second-rate, but in his day he was as popular as Verdi. In our day, Meyerbeer is not much performed, so here’s a chance to see his 1836 Les Huguenots, an epic about the French wars of religion. Five hours, two intervals. —L.J.