The Operetta (1865) about beautiful Helen, Queen of Sparta,
and her abduction by Paris, King of Troy was a parody of the events which
led to the Trojan War. However it was designed as a barely disguised satire
about Napoleon III and the moral laxity of French High Society; accordingly
the original script was full of topical allusions which would be lost
on most members of a modern audience.
In producing this staging at the Châtelet Theatre
the Director, Laurent Pelly, working closely with the conductor, Marc
Minkowski, re-worked the staging with the core idea that the action
all takes place in the dreams of a sleeping, sex-starved, suburban housewife
who is in bed with her somnolent old husband at the present time. With
the logic of dreams there results a mixture of life in ancient Greece
mixed with modern Greece as a holiday resort. Although my instincts
are to prefer the minimum of alteration to the original version, in
this particular staging the concept works very well and the result is
an hilarious comedy which is true to the spirit of Offenbach.
The focus throughout is a large double bed and the
operetta starts with Dame Felicity getting into bed with her sleeping
husband and starting to dream that she is the most beautiful woman in
the world. Dame Felicity is not a name which would have leapt to my
mind for French Operetta, but she is brilliant throughout both when
singing and speaking (she has a degree in French) and is totally idiomatic
and convincing in this far from easy part.
The strange logic of this dream leads to a wonderful
mixture of disparate elements. The chorus sometimes appears in classical
tunics and sometimes in modern beach wear. The ancient heroes are dressed
as figures of fun (for example a battle hat topped with a broom head)
and make their first appearance on luggage trolleys pushed by railway
porters. When Helen sings her dream love duet with Paris, who is disguised
as a shepherd, a flock of sheep appear and meekly surround the lovers
( a wonderful touch!). Helen explains that she is doing no wrong in
betraying her husband because she has to obey the instructions of the
Goddess Venus – an excuse with a fascinating philosophical ramifications.
Throughout, the staging and choreography is brilliant;
a brilliant romp where we never know what to expect next. The audience
laughs a lot at the jokes and the activities on the stage. The DVD captures
well what was obviously a successful theatrical event.
Musically the disc is equally winning, Marc Minkowski
is a conductor who specialises in the French Baroque but seems very
much at home with the score in its mixture of the rhythmically alert
and more sedate numbers. The short form of the Overture is used. Dame
Felicity Lott shows herself to be just as brilliant in French Operetta
as in Richard Strauss. Vann Beuron has a good tenor voice which he uses
to good effect as Paris. The other parts are all sung with verve and
élan, with the veteran Michel Sénéchal being particularly
effective in the part of Helen's husband, the King of Spartan. The chorus
of the Musicians du Louvre is exemplary; they are the backbone of the
operetta in terms not only of singing but also acting and dancing.
The stage work and lighting is excellent. The sound
also is good, with a realistic ambience in surround sound. All in all
Offenbach's operetta is confirmed as a masterpiece in this splendid
DVD.
Arthur Baker
Also see review by Franck
Cadenhead
Jacques
OFFENBACH (1819-80) 
Les Musiciens del Louvre,
Grenoble/Marc Minkowski