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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
charming, February 15, 2003
By A Customer
This review is from: Grétry: Zémire et Azor (Audio CD)
Zémire et Azor is the best work of Grétry's many compositions. It is based on the story of Beauty and the Beast - it is an elegant and gentle work - it is beautifully executed by the RTB chamber orchestra (Belgium) and very well recorded. Of the so- loists only Mady Mesplé is well-known - she makes the most of her bravura aria 'La fauvette' - but we get stylish performances from the others as well. This reissue is on two super-bargain CDs with a synopsis and a small essay on the composor - as a fill-up on the second CD we get dances and ballet music taken from other works by the same composer. A very welcome release.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Discover A Buried Treasure, August 6, 2005
This review is from: Grétry: Zémire et Azor (Audio CD)
This is hands down one of the most beautiful old operas I've ever heard. It saddens me that it's so obscure it will never be staged in the States or Europe's main opera houses. It may have been staged in some theateres at one time or another but its really buried treasure metaphorically speaking. EMI has recently been on a successful digitally remastering of old records streak. This recording stars Madie Mesple, a French lyric-coloratura soprano who enjoyed success in her signature role of Lakme and stuck to the French repertoire more than any other soprano of the post World War years. She has a bright, fairy-like, sweet voice, of the "Snow white" kind a critic once said, but she uses it effectively in portraying virginal girls, romantic heroines and victims. In this opera, one by the French composer Gretry (best known for Richard the Lion Heart which was Tchaikovsky's favorite opera) Mesple sings the role of Zemire. Now what this is really is Beauty and the Beast under different names. It's meant to mirror the styles of music and romanticism of the period in which Gretry composed which was the late Baroque Era when such names as Jean Baptiste Lully was still talked about with reverence and ears were tuning in to the newer sounds of Gluck (of Orfeo and Eurydice fame). The music is absolutely beautiful, with rich melodies, courtly ballet dances, ornate arias, duets and ensembles. While it is different from the Beauty and the Beast story we are familiar with thanks to Disney, its still a gorgeous piece of old French culture. This is music that Louis XIV would have gone to sleep listening to. This is music that is soulful and achingly beautiful. At times one wants to cry, even if there is no tragedy being played out! Surely this kind of music foreshadowed Mozart. Take a look. You'll have to get it from Amazon. com because I know of no record stores that sell this. It's buried treausure for opera treasure diggers. If you like old and obsucre operas that are beautiful, add this to your collection. You will enjoy it immensely. Last night, I heard the last parts and I was in my garden hearing it played from inside the house and I felt that this music actually makes you feel a lot more noble and enriched as a lover of the arts It's music to spoil yourself with. Or to spoil others.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Incredible!, August 22, 2005
This review is from: Grétry: Zémire et Azor (Audio CD)
This is the only recording of this French opera I've been able to find. It's a great example of opera from the classical era, with splendid ornamentation, and a crispness like no other. Based on the Beauty and the Beast tale.
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