Opera Comique Collection Vol.1: Adam, Hahn, Offenbach [Blu-ray]

The three opéras-comiques in this set epitomise the glamour, vivacity and zest of the quintessentially French genre and are among their composers’ most admired works. Adolphe Adam’s Le Postillon de Lonjumeau exudes rococo Parisian charm, Reynaldo Hahn’s elegant and refined Ciboulette is one of the last masterpieces of French operetta, and Jacques Offenbach’s La Périchole is an opéra-bouffe of scintillating colour and vivacious dances. These acclaimed productions from the famous stage of the Opéra Comique in Paris feature world-class performers, superb directors, and, in the Adam, costumes by the iconic French fashion designer, Christian Lacroix.

This is a collection of three previous Naxos audiovisual release, now presented as a 3-disc box set.

Le Postillon de Lonjumeau is headlined by Michael Spyres, world famous for his ‘baritenor’ voice. ‘There were audible gasps from the audience several times during the evening, whether at Spyres’ amiable pyrotechnics or at one dazzling set or curtain after another’ wrote NPW-Paris.

Of Ciboulette, BBC Music Magazine wrote: ‘The music... is almost always charming and regularly inventive, and here in the careful hands of Laurence Equilbey… The cast is nigh-on impeccable, with tenor Julien Behr offering plenty of juvenile lead panache as Antonin, and soprano Eva Ganizate a spitfire of a Zénobie.’

Opera wrote: ‘La Périchole is perhaps Offenbach’s most delectable operetta, outstanding for charm, wit and warmth… And Naxos’s Blu-ray, expertly showcasing the new Opéra Comique production… boasts a cast, conductor, chorus and orchestra well capable of doing justice to its special qualities.’ ‘Stéphanie d’Oustrac and Philippe Talbot are stellar as the songful yet destitute lovebirds at the centre of the plot. And, with its comic slant on the injustice of imprisonment, La Périchole makes for a refreshing tonic’, wrote The New York Times.

Треклист:
Adam: Le Postillon de Lonjumeau
Recorded at the Opéra Comique, Paris, 5 and 7 April 2019

Hahn, R: Ciboulette
Recorded at the Opéra Comique, Paris, 20 and 22 February 2013

Offenbach: La Perichole
Recorded at the Opéra Comique, Paris, 17 and 19 May 2022