Orphée aux enfers - EMI Classics CD: Lyon 1997: Minkowski/Dessay, Beuron, Fouchecourt)

Even those who are most disinterested in classical music will still be charmed by the operetta of Jacques Offenbach. Operetta... or as the Shleps would call 'mini-opera' are 'small' only in the area of drama, however. They are Frenchily witty, adorable,and bitingly satiric. As catchy as a Venus’ fly trap and as fresh as the spunky kitten who likes to mistake his own tail for an invading dragon. In other words, they are probably next in line after cigarette on the government’s list of ‘things to ban from public place’!

Orphée aux enfers (Orpheus in the Underworld) is a splendidly merciless satire of the myth of Orpheus (or, rather, the already popular Gluck opera about Orpheus and his wife), the Thracian musician who braves the furies of the Underworld in his attempt to reclaim his dead wife, Eurydice... only to be lose her again forever when he breaks the condition Jupiter set in allowing him to enter Hades in looking back at Eurydice before crossing the River Styx to the land of the living.

In Offenbach’s operetta, our ‘narrator’ is the allegorical character L’Opinion publique (Public Opinion) who fancies herself the ‘Deus ex machina’ of the story whose duty it is to safe-guard the moral of the society. She takes (all too) keen interest in l’affaire Orphée-Eurydice because, instead of being in a love-fest marriage, Offenbach’s Orphée is an egoistic philandering violinist star who admires many of his admirers (but most of all the nymph Maquilla), while Eurydice is having an affair of her own with the handsome shepherd Aristée (none other than the god Pluto in disguise). After a particular husband-wife confrontation at Aristée’s hut where Orphée tortures his wife by making her listen to his newest violin concerto before stalking off. Eurydice is ‘killed’ by a venomous snake as she tries to warn Aristée that her husband had set a trap for him.... A delightful event for them as Aristée can finally reveals his true self as Pluto, the god of the dead

Here would be a happy ending for all (especially for Orphée, who now feels free to go out openly with Maquilla) but for the indignation of Public Opinion, who finds Orphée’s lack of concern for his wife worthy of public disapproval. She drags the ‘hero’ off to Mt Olympus where they find Jupiter having a row of his own with the other gods and goddesses who object to his hypocritical condemnations of Pluto (Aristée)’s antics of kidnaping a mortal woman. Seizing the chance to appear godly in front of an audience, Jupiter orders Pluto to return Eurydice to her husband pronto. They all go to Hades (where Eurydice is being kept accompanied by John Styx, Pluto’s swanky servant) to ensure that the decree is carried out. Needless to say, Jupiter promptly takes fancy to Eurydice and manages to save her from having to go back to the land of the living by turning her into a bacchante (a priestess of Bacchus) when his clasp of thunder causes Orphée to look back at her. Everyone breaks into a joyous dance at the turn of the events to the distress of the ever nosy Public Opinion.... but then who ever cares what the public thinks anyhow?

This performance mostly uses the original 2 Acts 1858 version of the opera with some augmentation from the extended 1874 version. Even those of us who aren’t into opera will surely have heard the famous ‘Can-can’ (actually the Act II Infernal galop) before (catch a glimpse of it in the 3rd sample clip).

Sample:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyvTIPveHpA (Act II ‘Ah, quelle triste destinée’ Eurydice)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QN-zyCPtXOE (Act II ‘Il m’a semblé sur mon époule’ Eurydice and Jupiter)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeB_ZFDKcBI (ensemble Finale)

Cast:
Orphée (Orpheus) ::: Yann Beuron (tenor)
Eurydice (Orpheus’ wife) ::: Natalie Dessay (soprano)
Aristée/Pluton (God of the underworld) ::: Jean-Paul Fouchécourt (tenor)
Jupiter (Father of the Gods) ::: Laurent Naouri (baritone)
L’Opinion Publique (Public Opinion) ::: Ewa Podles (contralto)
Cupidon (Cupid, God of love) ::: Patricia Petibon (soprano)
Diane (Diana, Goddess of chastity) ::: Jennifer Smith (soprano)
Vénus (Goddess of beauty) ::: Véronique Gens (soprano)
John Styx (Pluto’s servant) ::: Steven Cole (tenor)
Mercure (Mercury, messenger of the gods) ::: Etienne Lescroart (tenor)
Marc Minkowski.... God of the Choeur et Orchestre de l’Opéra National de Lyon & Orchestre de Chambre de Grenoble (well, close enough, he’s the conductor)

I’m not going out on a limb when I assert that this CD set is the very best recording of this marvelously riotous operetta on the market. Maestro Marc Minkowski leads the orchestra in a delightfully spirited musical performance, keeping the pace lively while displaying great sensitivity in the more lyrical moments. If you haven’t heard what an orchestral laugh sounds like, you’ll hear plenty of it on this CD... in all of its varieties

The star of the show (and it is hard to stand out in this wonderful cast) is most definitely Natalie Dessay, the great French soprano. She is outrageously comfortable in this demanding role and is the funniest and most adorably self-absorbed Eurydice I’ve ever heard. Always totally in character and always musically beyond reproach. As impressed I am with her embodiment of tragic heroines like Ophélie in Thomas’ ‘Hamlet’ or the title role in Donizetti’s Lucie de Lammermoor, I’m even more enchanted of her comedic skills. The larks have never sing more joyfully and the owls have never sound as hilariously hooty as Dessay’s Eurydice does. She’s a stage bird par excellente!

Surrounding her is a marvelously engaging cast of singers who seem to bring out the best in each other. Yann Beuron is a fantastically self-important (but easily cowed by Public Opinion) Orphée. Laurent Naouri (Dessay’s real life husband) a total riot as Jupiter, especially during the famous Act II Duo de la mouche (Fly Duet) duet with Eurydice. And the Polish contralto Ewa Podles is a real treat as the ever intrusive L’Opinion Publique. There just isn't a weak link in this jolly cast. Whoever thought the French stuffy will have that notion completely dispelled... dead and buried (without any hope of bribing Jupiter into giving you a chance of recovering it, since you are no Orpheus) by this performance.

If you are suffering from the winter blues, forget Prozac or other medicinal remedies and pick up this CD of Offenbach’s delightfully underworldly operetta instead. The only side-effects you might get is bouts of irresistible urge to bound up and down the hallway doing French can-can or humming the nerve off your co-workers with Offenbach’s many infectious tunes... and possibly developing a new found affectation for giant flies. Recommended without reservation!!

2 CD. Run-time: 110 min. Sung in French. Booklet contains cast list (with photos), track list, and printed libretto in French and English.

Other Offenbach operetta:
La Belle Hélène (Zürich 1997)

PS: Thanks very much to lambchops, our music CL for another lightning SAP of this CD set! :o)

PPS: This review is my second tiny little submission to dianapinions' .

Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Hanging With Friends