Offenbach: Orphée aux enfers (Lyon, 1997)
 

Cast: Natalie Dessay (Eurydice), Yann Beuron (Orphée), Jean-Paul Fouchecourt (Aristée / Pluton), Laurent Naouri (Jupiter), Martine Olmeda (L'Opinion Publique), Steven Cole (John Styx), Cassandre Berthon (Cupidon), Etienne Lescroart (Mercure), Virginie Pochon (Diane), Maryline Fallot (Vénus), Chorus and Orchestra of the Opéra National de Lyon, Grenoble Chamber Orchestra, Ballet du Grand-Théâtre de Genève, Marc Minkowski (conductor)

Originally recorded at the Opéra National de Lyon, December 1997

Issued on DVD in 2002 by TDK Mediactive (DV-OPOAE, PAL/region 0, menus and subtitles in English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish)

Technical Details:
Aspect Ratio: 16:9
Sound: LPCM Stereo, AC3, DTS (reviewed in stereo)

Running time: 123 minutes

Sung in French
 
First, one must note that this is not another La belle Hélène. That recording is a landmark, a Tour Eiffel and 'sui generis'. This Orphée is, however, a captivating, exhausting, delightful, exciting 'tour de force'; if that is enough for you, this disc belongs in your library.
 
Minkowski's reading demands adjectives: frenetic, exhilarating, ebullient and brilliant will do for starters. Dessay is the ultimate gamin - or would be if Berthon were not even cuter. However, even Berthon cannot match Dessay's brilliant singing and ultimate 'insouciance'. To my taste, Fouchecourt is slightly less of a singer and slightly more of a clown than would be ideal, but Naouri cannot be faulted whether imperious as a god or amorous as a fly. The titular hero of the work has little to do - which is unfortunate since Beuron does that little so very well. Olmeda is fine in her solo but seems less than comfortable elsewhere, as though the rôle did not quite fit her; she is a French horn playing as a brass instrument.
 
The production is stylized, contemporary and clever. Few props are used - necessarily since action consumes the stage in unpredictable and exhausting ways. Choreography is brilliant and all but continuous. Indeed, as delightful as the dancing is during the intermezzi, one may wish instead for a moment's respite from the intensity of the performance. The chorus is superb and the other rôles are cast to perfection. When one hopes as one does here for more from the Mercure, Diane, and Vénus, it becomes evident that this recording was cast from remarkable strength.
 
Video quality is superb and when one stops laughing long enough to hear the audio, it is fine as well.
 
Related website:
TDK Mediactive www.tdk-mediactive.com
 
Michael Richter, 7 May 2003
opera@mrichter.com
 
See also Michael Richter's Introduction to the DVD, for a list of other reviews see the DVD Project page.