Customer Reviews

Offenbach - La Vie Parisienne / Ossonce, DeLavault, Opera National de Lyon

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

"La vie parisienne," a paean to Second Empire Paris and its voluptuous delights, may be Offenbach's most tuneful score. The irresistible melodies and rhythms never stop-except, naturally, to allow for spoken dialogue (and if that bothers you you aren't cut out to be an operetta fan :o). The best-known tunes appear in the popular ballet, "Gaite parisienne," arranged by French conductor Manuel Rosenthal; and anyone who loves that piece will be captivated to hear and see the originals and their lyrics come to life dramatically in the complete operetta, the words as witty and sophisticated as the music. This production, somewhere between traditional and modernistic, tells the story and captures the satire very well.

The performers male and female are more appealing for their comic acting and dancing talents, pretty faces, and shapely figures than for operatic strength and beauty of voice. The chief exception is the entrancing Mlle. DeLavault, a serious soprano who combines all the above graces, as the overbooked courtesan Metella. No fat ladies or portly tenors on this stage. Orchestral execution is excellent, though the singers often lag a half-beat behind the conductor's lively tempos. Better that than sluggishness.

Fortunately undominated by a Celebrity High-Concept Director or Designer, the Lyon production nevertheless partly manifests contemporary European operatic schizophrenia: compulsively authentic music-complete score, reconstructed instrumental parts, etc.-combined with compulsively inauthentic theater. Some of the spoken dialogue is shouted, for no apparent reason, at the top of the lungs, not healthy for singers, especially those with semi-pro voices. Some twitchy and unnecessary dancing obtrudes, and the actors themselves occasionally jump up and swing chimpanzee-like from the scenery. At the opposite extreme, groups of characters, particularly servants, are usually seen sprawling around glassy-eyed in attitudes of modernist existential ennui. The settings are sparse, but the period costumes are gorgeous, especially becoming to the ladies. Thank goodness no capitalist business suits, army fatigues, or Nazi helmets. The camera work is OK, not obtrusive, but sometimes important business goes on invisibly outside the frame, a common failing of video-ized live theater.

These minor deficiencies bothered me most the first time I viewed the disc, but I got used to them. Strongly recommended for all Offenbachians.

Fully agree with the previous reviewer. Myself being quite partial to Offenbach who singlehandedly created "operetta", a forerunner of Suppe and a whole generation of Austrian-German-Hungarian operetta composers, including Johann Strauss, Zeller, Millocker, Ziehrer, Lehar and Kalman, I'd like to emphasize certain very positive aspects of this production.
This is primarily a student effort as most of the performers being in their twenties but formidably talented. There is a tremendous enthusiasm of youth,a joy of performing and a great love of
Offenbach's delightful score. Certain amateurism is unavoidable , but this is part of the charm.
The young conductor, Ossonce, deserves most of the credit- he moves the ensemble with irrepressible elan, great affinity for rubato, sense of humour and overall feel for fin-de-siecle gaiete. He will be a great conductor some day.
And of course the "star", Helene Devault elevates the performance to professionalism with a fine voice, exquisite appearance and acting - a feast for sore eyes.
One more thing: Today's so called "musical comedies" people flock
to on Broadway even with one or two decent hits are considered great successes. Offenbach's work in its near three hours of running time must have at least 25 and these survived close to 150 years.
Great entertainment, highly recommended.

There is some very sprightly music in this performance, where the singers occasionally allow a pleasant sound to emerge (but not enough to spoil us), interrupted by tediously directed scenes straining much too hard to be funny. The actors/singers awkwardly move chairs around a lot to remind us that this is not a concert performance. Disagreements among the singers and the conductor regarding tempi are presented to us with great force. The comedy presumably depends on a sophisticated ambiguity regarding the contrasting mannerisms of nobility, bohemians, and servants, but the director seems to think that we would prefer a rather vulgar muddle instead. Artistic unity is achieved by lots of shouting and shrieking in both the songs and the spoken sections. Every now and then we are allowed a glimpse of lovely music, reminding us that Offenbach knew what he was doing, even if this production doesn't quite understand the work at all.

As a musical piece, this French operetta is simply outstanding! It has a lot of spectacular arias and scenes that are worth listening to.
However, this production from the Opera National De Lyon, does not do a good job of bringing the piece to life. One cannot do a great job of comparing this production to another mainly because there isn't another DVD of this operetta. However, it is evident that this production has some flaws:
1. The singers in this production are clearly Amateurs; they do not sound perfect and a lot of times they produce a very "bland" sound that can be displeasing.

2. The set of this Operetta is also very plain. An operetta that takes place in Paris and depicts the "Parisienne" life should invest in some more expensive sets! Also if you decide to make a modern version of the operetta don't change back into the traditional style at the end. For example, the setting of the station in first act was modern while the second act's "hotel" scene was more traditional. Mixing time periods confuses the viewer!

3. The humor in this production is not natural; it does not come from the
talents of the actors but is forced on the audience by the cast.

I give this production a 3 star becuase of the excellent camera work.
The orchestra did an excellent job playing the piece; which is not an easy one to play!

This is a wonderful operetta that is done by a second class crew. If you never saw La Vie Parisienne, it is something that you should consider watching; the piece is a beautiful one!

I owe 2 other Offenbach productions-"La Belle Helene" staged by the Zurich Opera and "Orphee aux Enfers" staged by Lyon National Opera(available in Zone 0 format from Amazon.co.uk)which are much better than this one.
After viewing the hilarious Orphee aux Enfers I was rather disapointed by this comparetively boring production,and since the first and only viewing,it stays abandoned in a corner...
With a title like "Vie Parisienne" you expect a "rich bubbling champagne" but what you get is a rather "dry Cabernet".
Although it has some good moments of singing and dancing and very nice music,it somehow doesn't tie together and leaves you with a sensation of heaviness.I agree with the other reviewer that it looks more like a sung play and it's a pity.
I don't recommend this production.Go and look for a good CD version instead.

Offenbach wrote delightful music for his operettas and the orchestra plays it very well, which is why I give this DVD 3 stars instead of lower. The performance, although the costumes are nice, tends to be boring in spots because of the staging. Also, some of the singers, who were no more than adequate, had trouble maintaining the same tempo as the conductor and orchestra.

Offenbach. Halevy and collaborators have been given new life by this first rate performance from Lyons of their gay musical comedy. Song and dance, scenic design and costumes, orchestral accompaniment are firmly integrated into the scintillating evening its creators must have intended. Featured players are multitalented, able to produce vocal and physical effects of a high order. Most of the supporting roles hit the vocal and acting mark most of the time to give the production the firm base it requires. The acting is almost always excellent stimulated by one of the best scores written in this genre.
Although taped in 1991, the picture and sound (at least on average, non-souped up, equipment)is lacking nothing for full enjoyment of the action on the stage.
Highly recommended as a DVD to restore equanimity following the customary tragedy of "Grand Opera", which usually does not include on its menu gaiety and a happy ending.

Hoffman's 'La Vie Parisiene,' here performed by a modern Paris 'opera,' has some very impressive moments. Overall, though, it feels a bit 'stiff', that is to say, some scenes seem to have trouble jump-starting themselves into effective entertainment, art, or action.

But note I have given this DVD 4-stars. If you like Hoffman and modern Paris drama sung in French, this DVD might interest you. The acting and the costumes are intriguing, as is the storyline. You have to give these performers a lot of credit, for the lines they sing are incredibly challenging in terms of syllabic structure, rapidity, and intonation. These are expert thespians and I would love to watch them perform in something more 'rich' than this slightly dry "La Vie Parisienne.'

This can hardly be called an opera, however, for it really is more like a play which is sung. When I think of 'opera', I think of 'Lakme,' 'Madame Butterfly,' or 'Turandot,' not 'La Vie Parisienne.'