Rossini: Le Comte Ory - Opera Comique, Paris (2017) [Blu-ray]

Rossini’s penultimate opera, premiered in 1828 at the Opéra National de Paris, is a musical comedy about a love triangle set during the Crusades. At the Opéra Comique its plot is transported to the time of the works’ creation with France’s military expeditions to Algeria. It is staged by a first-rate creative team: Stage director Denis Podalydès and costume designer Christian Lacroix provide stunning visuals, whilst conductor Louis Langrée leads the Orchestre des Champs-Élysées, the Chœur Les éléments and a stellar cast of soloists in this delightful fool’s game. Mezzo-soprano Gaëlle Arquez shines with her ‘superlative technique’ (Le Monde) and Julie Fuchs’s Adèle elicits ‘more than just admiration, namely enthusiasm in the etymological sense of the word: inspired by the divine’ (Le Monde). ‘A masterpiece!’ (Télérama), ‘Pure pleasure!’ (Les Échos). Le Comte Ory at the Opéra Comique is ‘a true musical and theatrical celebration where everything sparkles!’ (Bachtrack)