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Jacques Offenbach, Marc Minkowski, Natalie Dessay, Jean-Paul Fouchécourt, Choeur et Orchestre de l'Opéra, Orchestre de Chambre de Grenoble, Laurent Naouri, Patricia Petibon, Yann Beuron, Lydie Pruvot, Ewa Podles, Etienne Lescroart, Jennifer Smith, Virginie Pochon, Véronique Gens, Steven Cole - Offenbach - Orphée aux Enfers / Dessay, Naouri, Fouchécourt, Beuron, Podles, Petibon, Smith, Gens, Cole, Minkowski
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Jacques Offenbach, Marc Minkowski, Natalie Dessay, Jean-Paul FouchA©court, Choeur et Orchestre de l'OpA©ra, Orchestre de Chambre de Grenoble, Laurent Naouri, Patricia Petibon, Yann Beuron, Lydie Pruvot, Ewa Podles, Etienne Lescroart, Jennifer Smith, Virginie Pochon, VA©ronique Gens, Steven Cole - Offenbach - OrphA©e aux Enfers / Dessay, Naouri, FouchA©court, Beuron, Podles, Petibon, Smith, Gens, Cole, Minkowski

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Offenbach - Orphée aux Enfers / Dessay, Naouri, Fouchécourt, Beuron, Podles, Petibon, Smith, Gens, Cole, Minkowski
Music Price: $32.98
As of Sep 3 21:54 EDT (details)

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Artist(s)Jacques Offenbach, Marc Minkowski, Natalie Dessay, Jean-Paul Fouchécourt, Choeur et Orchestre de l'Opéra, Orchestre de Chambre de Grenoble, Laurent Naouri, Patricia Petibon, Yann Beuron, Lydie Pruvot, Ewa Podles, Etienne Lescroart, Jennifer Smith, Virginie Pochon, Véronique Gens and Steven Cole
StudioEMI Classics
Release DateNovember 11, 2002
UPC Code724355672520
Buy this item$32.98 at Amazon.com
As of Sep 3 21:54 EDT (details)
2 Audio CD, Usually ships in 24 hours,
 

About Jacques Offenbach, Marc Minkowski, Natalie Dessay, Jean-Paul FouchA©court, Choeur et Orchestre de l'OpA©ra, Orchestre de Chambre de Grenoble, Laurent Naouri, Patricia Petibon, Yann Beuron, Lydie Pruvot, Ewa Podles, Etienne Lescroart, Jennifer Smith, Virginie Pochon, VA©ronique Gens, Steven Cole - Offenbach - OrphA©e aux Enfers / Dessay, Naouri, FouchA©court, Beuron, Podles, Petibon, Smith, Gens, Cole, Minkowski

The myth of Orpheus and Eurydice is one of opera's most potent archetypes, the subject of the earliest experiments in the genre by Peri and Monteverdi. But Offenbach's wickedly witty operetta uses it as a vehicle to lampoon stuffy artistic conventions as well as the social and political realities of Paris in the Second Empire. In this sublimely ridiculous scenario, Eurydice is a flighty flirt only too happy to be separated from husband Orpheus, a dullard violin teacher, when Pluto kidnaps her into his realm. At the promptings of the moralistic figure Public Opinion, Orpheus reluctantly plays out the prescribed mythic pattern of trying to reclaim his wife, while a depraved assortment of gods intervenes. The collision here of sacrosanct myth with opera buffa seems almost to anticipate aspects of Strauss's Ariadne auf Naxos; there is, to be sure, no mistaking an artistic lineage that leads to the romps of Gilbert and Sullivan. Marc Minkowski teases Offenbach's over-the-top parodies (an irreverent quote of Gluck's "Che faro senza Eurydice," for example) and stylistic gear-changes into an irresistibly fizzy concoction, using essentially the original 1858 version with additions from the expanded score of 1874. The orchestra brings out the exuberance of Offenbach's persistent dance rhythms--whether waltz based or in the famous can-can galop of the bacchanalian finale--as well as the tune-rich nature of the score. And the cast sparkles, featuring the crystalline acrobatics of Natalie Dessay's Eurydice, Ewa Podles in dusky, scornful contralto as Public Opinion, and Laurent Naouri as a horny Jupiter--to mention just a few of the treats in store here. --Thomas May Amazon.com

Tracks

Disc 1
  1. Orphee aux Enfers: Ouverture
  2. Orphee aux Enfers: Acte I - Premier tableau: la campagne aux environs de Thebes - Qui suis-je? Du theatre antique... (L'Opinion Publique)
  3. Orphee aux Enfers: Acte I - Premier tableau: la campagne aux environs de Thebes - Chanson: La femme dont le coeur reve (Eurydice)
  4. Orphee aux Enfers: Acte I - Premier tableau: la campagne aux environs de Thebes - Dialogue: Il est sorti! (Eurydice, Orphee)
  5. Orphee aux Enfers: Acte I - Premier tableau: la campagne aux environs de Thebes - Duo du concerto: Ah! c'est ainsi! (Orphee, Eurydice)
  6. Orphee aux Enfers: Acte I - Premier tableau: la campagne aux environs de Thebes - Dialogue: Oh Venus, belle deesse (Eurydice, Orphee)
  7. Orphee aux Enfers: Acte I - Premier tableau: la campagne aux environs de Thebes - Monologue: J'ai peur... (Eurydice)
  8. Orphee aux Enfers: Acte I - Premier tableau: la campagne aux environs de Thebes - Ballet pastoral
  9. Orphee aux Enfers: Acte I - Premier tableau: la campagne aux environs de Thebes - Chanson d'Arist?e: Moi, je suis Aristee
  10. Orphee aux Enfers: Acte I - Premier tableau: la campagne aux environs de Thebes - Dialogue: Voila! Voila ce que je dis... (Aristee, Eurydice)
  11. Orphee aux Enfers: Acte I - Premier tableau: la campagne aux environs de Thebes - Dialogue : Allons ! Allons ! (Aristee, Eurydice)
  12. Orphee aux Enfers: Acte I - Premier tableau: la campagne aux environs de Thebes - Couplets: La mort m'apparait souriante (Eurydice)
  13. Orphee aux Enfers: Acte I - Premier tableau: la campagne aux environs de Thebes - M?lodrame: Crac! c'est bon! (Aristee)
  14. Orphee aux Enfers: Acte I - Final - Libre! o bonheur! (Orphee, Choeur)
  15. Orphee aux Enfers: Acte I - Final - Couplets de l'Opinion Publique: C'est l'Opinion Publique
  16. Orphee aux Enfers: Acte I - Final - Viens! a l'Opinion (L-Opinion Publique, Choeur, Orphee)
  17. Orphee aux Enfers: Acte I - Final - Duettino: Viens! viens! c'est l'honneur (L'Opinion Publique, Orphee)
  18. Orphee aux Enfers: Acte I - Deuxleme tableu: L'Olympe - Entr'acte et choeur du sommeil: Dormons, dormons (Choeur)
  19. Orphee aux Enfers: Acte I - Deuxleme tableu: L'Olympe - Les Heures
  20. Orphee aux Enfers: Acte I - Deuxleme tableu: L'Olympe - R?veil des dieux et couplets de Diane: Par Saturne, quel est ce bruit (Jupiter, Choeur, Diane)
  21. Orphee aux Enfers: Acte I - Deuxleme tableu: L'Olympe - Dialogue: Ah! Pauvre Acteon! (Diane, Cupidon, Junon, Jupiter, Venus)
  22. Orphee aux Enfers: Acte I - Deuxleme tableu: L'Olympe - Rondo-saltarelle de Mercure: Eh hop! Eh hop!
  23. Orphee aux Enfers: Acte I - Deuxleme tableu: L'Olympe - Dialogue: Et Pluton? (Jupiter, Mercure, Junon)
  24. Orphee aux Enfers: Acte I - Deuxleme tableu: L'Olympe - Entr?e de Pluton et des Furies: Salut au puissant maitre
  25. Orphee aux Enfers: Acte I - Deuxleme tableu: L'Olympe - Air en prose de Pluton: Heureuses divinites
  26. Orphee aux Enfers: Acte I - Deuxleme tableu: L'Olympe - Dialogue: As-tu bientot fini (Jupiter, Pluton)
  27. Orphee aux Enfers: Acte I - Deuxleme tableu: L'Olympe - Choeur de la R?volte: Aux armes (Diane, Venus, Cupidon, Choeur des dieux, Jupiter, Pluton)
  28. Orphee aux Enfers: Acte I - Deuxleme tableu: L'Olympe - Dialogue: Une sedition! (Tous)
  29. Orphee aux Enfers: Acte I - Deuxleme tableu: L'Olympe - Rondeau des m?tamorphoses: Pour seduire Alcmene (Minerve, Choeur, Diane, Cupidon, Venus, Pluton)
  30. Orphee aux Enfers: Acte I - Deuxleme tableu: L'Olympe - Dialogue: Je suis a bout de forces! (Junon, Pluton, Mercure)
  31. Orphee aux Enfers: Acte I - Final - Il approche! Il s'approche! (Pluton, Les dieux, L'Opinion Publique, Jupiter, Orphee, Mercure, Cupidon, Diane, Venus)
  32. Orphee aux Enfers: Acte I - Final - Gloire! gloire a Jupiter (Tous)
Disc 2
  1. Orphee aux Enfers: Acte II - Troisieme tableau: Le boudoir de Pluton - Entr'acte
  2. Orphee aux Enfers: Acte II - Troisieme tableau: Le boudoir de Pluton - Couplets des regrets: Ah! quelle triste destinee (Eurydice)
  3. Orphee aux Enfers: Acte II - Troisieme tableau: Le boudoir de Pluton - Dialogue: Voila deux jours que je suis seule (Eurydice, John Styx)
  4. Orphee aux Enfers: Acte II - Troisieme tableau: Le boudoir de Pluton - Couplets du roi de B?otie: Quand j'etais roi de Beotie (John Styx)
  5. Orphee aux Enfers: Acte II - Troisieme tableau: Le boudoir de Pluton - Dialogue: Va-t'en, je te dis, tu sens le vin (Eurydice, John Styx, Pluton, Jupiter, Cupidon)
  6. Orphee aux Enfers: Acte II - Troisieme tableau: Le boudoir de Pluton - Couplets des baisers: Pour attirer du fond de sa retraite (Cupidon)
  7. Orphee aux Enfers: Acte II - Troisieme tableau: Le boudoir de Pluton - Dialogue: A la une... a la deux... a la trois (Cupidon)
  8. Orphee aux Enfers: Acte II - Troisieme tableau: Le boudoir de Pluton - Duo de la mouche: Il m'a semble sur mon epaule (Eurydice, Jupiter)
  9. Orphee aux Enfers: Acte II - Troisieme tableau: Le boudoir de Pluton - Dialogue: Ah, je le savais bien (Eurydice, Jupiter, Pluton, John Styx, Cupidon)
  10. Orphee aux Enfers: Acte II - Troisieme tableau: Le boudoir de Pluton - Ballet des mouches: galop
  11. Orphee aux Enfers: Acte II - Troisieme tableau: Le boudoir de Pluton - Entr'acte
  12. Orphee aux Enfers: Acte II - Quatrieme tableau: Les Enfers - Choeur infernal: Vive le vin! Vive Pluton
  13. Orphee aux Enfers: Acte II - Quatrieme tableau: Les Enfers - Allons, ma belle bacchante (Cupidon, Venus, Choeur)
  14. Orphee aux Enfers: Acte II - Quatrieme tableau: Les Enfers - Hymne ? Bacchus: J'ai vu le dieu Bacchus (Eurydice, Diane, Cupidon, Venus, Les deesses)
  15. Orphee aux Enfers: Acte II - Menuet, galop infernal et choeur - Maintenant, je veux (Jupiter, Pluton)
  16. Orphee aux Enfers: Acte II - Menuet, galop infernal et choeur - Menuet: La la la. Le menuet n'est vraiment si charmant (Tous)
  17. Orphee aux Enfers: Acte II - Menuet, galop infernal et choeur - Galop infernal: Ce bal est original (Tous)
  18. Orphee aux Enfers: Acte II - Menuet, galop infernal et choeur - Dialogue: Et maintenant, fuyons (Eurydice, Jupiter, Pluton)
  19. Orphee aux Enfers: Acte II - Menuet, galop infernal et choeur - Dialogue: La position se tend (Pluton, Eurydice)
  20. Orphee aux Enfers: Acte II - Menuet, galop infernal et choeur - Dialogue: Oui, je suis convaincu (Orphee, Jupiter, Pluton)
  21. Orphee aux Enfers: Acte II - Menuet, galop infernal et choeur - Final: Ne regarde pas en arriere! (L'Opinion Publique, Tous)

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User Reviews

Average user review: 5.0 (13 reviews)

rating: 5 QuoteShould be illegal - way too much funQuote
This CD should be illegal - everyone from the singers to the musicians obviously had way too much fun - and so will you! Natalie Dessay shines as Eurydice and Laurent Naouri is a delightful (if rather roving) Jupiter, while Yann Beuron makes Orphee come alive. Ewa Podles gives Public Opinion exactly the right amount of santimonious self-rightousness.

A truly delightful recording - even if you aren't an opera lover, you owe it to yourself to listen to this wonderful romp to Mount Olympus and the Underworld...a case of Heaven in Hell!

Great performances all around, great sound...doesn't get any better (or more fun) than this. January 21, 2004

rating: 5 Quote...is but to fall in love with Offenbach himself!Quote
I do not believe there are any cd's in my entire collection that I have listened to as many times as I have listened to this one! Tableaux Troix is nearly worn out! Thanks to a slight taste of the english lyrical versions of Offenbach on Lesley Garrett's 'Soprano in Red' album, I new I had to have more, and if Garrett was a taste then Desay is truly the meal! Everything about this album was great. The preformance of all the cast to the sound quality (which seems always to be of a high caliber with EMI) go beyond excellence! I can not recommend this cd but demand that you hear it and you will know what I am talking about! August 30, 2003

rating: 5 QuoteBEST EVERQuote
I recommend this to everyone I meet who is into music of any kind. I recommend getting the DVD of this performance as well..it's absolutely hilarious. If you're a fan of Dessay, Petibon, Podles, and Fouchecourt like I am, then what are you waiting for? It's time to order, yo!

Love,
Chris August 5, 2003

rating: 5 QuoteBRAVI TUTTIQuote
Excellent all around! Dessay and Podles stand out. January 11, 2002

rating: 5 QuoteNever tired to listen toQuote
I love this opera and this particular CD. For me the highest mark goes to Natalie Dessay for her pure voice and her expression. Against the purists, I really miss the ouverture-pot pourri that you listen sometime on the radio. December 28, 2001

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