Chabrier: L'étoile (Lyon, 1986)
 

Cast: Colette Alliot-Lugaz (Lazuli), Georges Gautier (Ouf I), Ghylaine Raphanel (Princess Laoula), Magali Damonte (Aloès), François Le Roux (Herisson), Antoine David (Tapioca), Jules Bastin (Siroco), Lyon Opera Orchestra and Chorus, John Eliot Gardiner (conductor), Alain Maratrat and Louis Erlo (directors)

Originally recorded at the Opera National de Lyon 1986

Issued on DVD by Image Entertainment in 2002 (9302 /NTSC Region 1/subtitles and menus in English)

Technical Details:
Aspect Ratio: 4:3
Sound: 5.1; PCM Stereo

Running time: 100 minutes
Sung in French
 
I wanted to love this recording, but must settle for 'like' and 'recommend'. In the sense that Pelléas is essentially Gallic and that an Offenbach opéra comique need not be, Chabrier's L'étoile is uncompromisingly French. The tale of a poor peddler stealing a princess from a king is fantastic to begin with; throw in a fatal horoscope, assorted charades and a soprano hero and only French drollery and wit can make it work.
 
Casting here is likely to be as fine as is possible today. Alliott-Lugaz is pert and accurate as Lazuli, though her voice lacks the sparkle one wishes to hear, and she joins the rest of the cast in mugging both physically and vocally. One cannot cast off the reality of the assured singer for the fantasy of the exuberant post-adolescent lad. Damonte is successful both vocally and physically; she and the incomparable Bastin suggest the style missing from the others. Raphanel's voice is both small and nondescript for a role needing color. Gautier is problematic. At times, he is a French tenor playing the rôle with the sort of wide-eyed earnestness it demands; at others, he is a slapstick clown exploiting vocal effects.
 
Two critical failings of this recording are on the podium and in the staging. The fundamental distinction between the 'comique' and slapstick is lost. A work full of sunshine is inadequately lit both visually and audibly, particularly in the first half where cleverness stands in for charm. There is no sense of time or of place - or, more precisely, there are many such senses, each contradicting the others. For example, the ladies' chapeaux are appropriate for a turn-of-the-century motor ride, while the men appear in WW II uniforms. It is probably unfair to blame Gardiner for not being French, but perhaps one can say that he does not lead a 'French' performance. The orchestra is earthbound; the ensembles are soloists singing concurrently. Those faults cannot be quanitifed, but they are distressingly audible as the performance fails to elate, only to entertain.
 
The work is delightful, the music scintillating and if you are not burdened with knowledge of another performance, in another style, you may find those pleasures ample justification for the recording. Above all, do not make my mistake of knowing L'étoile first from the Ansermet broadcast of 1953! Taken on its own terms, this is a good introduction to Chabrier's little gem.
 
Related websites:  
Image Entertainment www.image-entertainment.com
 
Michael Richter, 20 March 2003
opera@mrichter.com
 
See also Michael Richter's Introduction to the DVD, for a list of other reviews see the DVD Project page.