Customer Reviews

Chabrier - L'Etoile / Gardiner, Alliot-Lugaz, Gautier, Opera National de Lyon

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When I first bought and listened to this DVD some of the voices did not seem completely coordinated with the visuals. On later viewing this does not seem such a problem, but the sound is a bit more closely miked than you would expect in a theater. The music is simply superb, the production very clever, the singing and conducting (also available on CD) are wonderful and lively throughout. The performance is unfortunately not filmed before a live audience, instead the camera moves around on the stage in ways that are disconcerting at first and acceptable in the end. As so many later French composers proclaimed, Chabrier produced more fertile, delightful melodies in one work like L'Etoile than most composers do in a lifetime--this is an inspired and life-enhancing opera bouffe.

I needed the opera for an academic paper, and it came quickly. The performance was excellent. The only drawback -- but it was a big one -- was that there was no accompanying booklet (libretto), only an advertisement for other dvd's. This is highly unusual, and was a disappointment because 1. I couldn't scan the text, but had to wait for each subtitle on screen as it was sung, and (especially) 2. the dvd booklet often contains interesting information about the work, which is valuable to a scholar.

This L'Etoile is thoroughly enjoyable after a slow start, and very well sung & acted. If you enjoy Gilbert & Sullivan or Offenbach operettas, I would highly recommend this DVD.