As suggested by Gaston, I'll be starting a thread for operettas, except those of Offenbach who has his own thread.
This one is in the used rack at Dearborn Music. It will remain there as far as I am concerned.I think Herkku has already reviewed this one, but I can't find it in French Romantic or Operetta.
It is an operetta, anyway, so I'll place my review here.
This is from Compiègne, the company that while under the direction of Pierre Jourdan used to specialize in obscure French opera.
The plot is very simple, for this one act operetta with a run time of 47 minutes. Newly weds don't know anything about sex. The young man's tutor doesn't have a clue either. The young man complains to his tutor that his education is lacking. There is a thunderstorm, the young bride is frightened, the young groom hugs and kisses her to reassure her, nature takes its course. Curtain.
Musically it is quite mediocre. Chabrier's L'Etoile is ten times better.
Regarding the production, staging (just a bedroom, simple but effective) and acting are appropriate. The soprano (Mary Saint-Palais) is cute but her voice is terrible. The two male characters (Franck Cassard, Philippe Forucade) do a little better. It is hard to say if the orchestra (Sinfonietta de Picardie) is good or not since the score is not demanding and the sound balance is not good (see below). The conductor is equally unknown, a certain Michel Swierczewski.
The technical quality of the DVD is primitive. 1.33:1 image with very good definition but fading colors. Sound has very poor balance, we can barely hear the orchestra at times. Obligatory English subtitles, not even original language (French) subtitles. No extras, no choice of sound track. Bare bones.
Not recommended, unless one is really into this genre of French opérette.
This one I have and it is an awesome opera and a fine production. Isabelle Philippe sings beautifully.This is an opéra-comique with lots of spoken dialogue, therefore best suited for the Operetta thread.
Here is the production I'm watching:
Isabelle Philippe (Haydée); Bruno Comparetti (Lorédan Grimani); Paul Medioni (Malipieri); Anne Sophie Schmidt (Rafaela); Mathias Vidal (Andréa Donato); Stéphane Malbec-Garcia (Doménico); Michael Swiereczewski (conductor); Théâtre Impérial de Compiègne; Pierre Jourdan (artistic director); André Brasilier (scenery); Jean-Pierre Capeyron (costumes); Thierry Alexandre (lighting). Kultur Video D4244 (Region 1, NTSC, 137 min, 16:9 anamorphic), 2005.
I don't always like Compiègne's attempts at reviving obscure French operas under the leadership of Pierre Jourdan. Sometimes I think that these operas are obscure and have been forgotten for a reason, and should better rest in peace. Maybe we modern men and women shoudn't disturb their well deserved deep sleep and stage them again.
This is a clear exception. Haydée is a very pleasant and beautiful operetta, and this production entirely does it justice, with good staging, good singing, good acting (complete with a couple of good looking sopranos), good orchestra, decent sound and image.
Recommended!
I'm not much of a fan of operetta but this was lots of fun and I loved it. Highly recommended.
Merry Widow - Lehar
Watched this recently, purchased mainly because it is a newer version in HD but I suspect it is the version to beat among all comers.
The chemistry between the Merry Widow Hana (a real beauty here) and count Danilo is so important and the two leads play the "hard to get not interested" but "I really secretly love you, am too proud to admit it" roles to perfection.....
I had to play the "Vilja" song over many times, what a jewel perhaps the most beautiful song in all of operetta, wonderfully performed here. The action and story momentum builds and builds to the climatic Maxim's Paris club "can can" dance sequences exploding with vitality and energy, this won me over in many ways I love it .
Everyone got swept away in the fun, conductor Welser Most takes the stage in a pink boa to sing and dance in a chorus line curtain call, priceless stuff! Every opera lover needs a Die Fledermaus and Merry Widow.........
That is one of the reasons why most of Strauss' operettas haven't lasted in the repertoire. His music often didn't fit the plot, thereby creating the bizarre juxtapositions you talked about.Strauss, Strauss, Strauss
I can clearly say that this is highly recommended: a very interesting, enjoyable, and different work, well rendered by a competent and creative production (except for the terrible dancers) and a talented team of singers. Is it a masterpiece? Hardly. It's sort of confusing, theatrically weak, and the composer can't make his mind about composing an opera or an operetta. But somehow it all still works rather well, and it is very pleasant.