Chabrier L'Etoile ROH

[kuligin]

I totally agree with David G, the one thing the production did not lack was " fizz ". I thought singing (as heard last Thursday) and production were very good, and preferred Elder's tempi to those on the J E G recording which are a bit too fast in my opinion.

Of course Covent Garden is a bit too large for this work, but where else could it be performed in London, after all ENO perform Monteverdi when surely Covent Garden would be a better venue

[Il Grande Inquisitor]

Oh, OK, now duly corrected, I shall look into that. Do you publish in print as well as online?

Bachtrack is entirely online, but I also write for print magazines Gramophone and Opera Magazine.

[Don Basilio]

I was struck by how this work of 1877 had the same plot device of an arbitrary monarch expecting a gratuitous execution treated comically as an English opera of 1885, ie Sullivan’s The Mikardo.

I thoroughly enjoyed L’Etoile at the ROH and I can imagine musicians would point our Chabrier’s music is more sophisticated than Sullivan’s. However Sullivan does manage to distinguish the different characters (grotesque and unrealistic though they may be) by their music. (Katisha couldn’t sing Yum Yum’s music, Ko ko couldn’t sing the Mikado’s.) I got the impression that there wasn’t that degree of characterisation in Chabrier.

But L’Etoile is a far more knowing work. The Mikado is ironic, heaven knows, but the irony would fail if it was obvious that it was ironic.

It is an hysterically French work. I'm glad to be part of a European Union.

[King_Ouf_I]

With my username, I couldn't NOT add something to this thread, could I?

I've just got home from my second visit to the show, having been at the first night as well. I posted my feelings on the aforementioned ROH website comments page after my first trip, which were generally complimentary, but critical of the pacing of the show under Sir Mark Elder's baton. I ended by hoping that the show would 'tighten up' during the run.

I'm delighted to say that I was much happier tonight about the things that bothered me three weeks ago. I think pretty much every aspect of the performance was better this time round. Elder's tempi seemed slightly sprightlier, although he still allowed one or two numbers to plod - however, I now feel far more generous towards him and have to admit that there are worse sins than lingering over such beautifully crafted music.

I don't suppose the show will be high up the list for revival in the future, but I'm really grateful to the company for the chance to hear it live again. At the current rate, I suppose I should be looking for another production in around 2028...

[makropulos]

I was struck by how this work of 1877 had the same plot device of an arbitrary monarch expecting a gratuitous execution treated comically as an English opera of 1885, ie Sullivan’s The Mikardo.

I thoroughly enjoyed L’Etoile at the ROH and I can imagine musicians would point our Chabrier’s music is more sophisticated than Sullivan’s. However Sullivan does manage to distinguish the different characters (grotesque and unrealistic though they may be) by their music. (Katisha couldn’t sing Yum Yum’s music, Ko ko couldn’t sing the Mikado’s.) I got the impression that there wasn’t that degree of characterisation in Chabrier.

But L’Etoile is a far more knowing work. The Mikado is ironic, heaven knows, but the irony would fail if it was obvious that it was ironic.

It is an hysterically French work. I'm glad to be part of a European Union.

Well said. Those are very neat parallels between the plots of L'étoile and Mikado, though I think it has to be a complete coincidence (Sullivan may have known L'étoile from the score, but the dates mean that I don't think he could have seen it –and nor could Gilbert: they were preoccupied with The Sorcerer at the same time L'étoile was on at the Bouffes-Parisiens).

I agree with you too about Sullivan's vocal characterisation. Chabrier's score is an absolute gem, but while Lazuli and Laouli couldn't easily exchange parts (one a mezzo, the other a soprano), the music they are given to sing is not that sharply differentiated. Having said that, it doesn't really matter because the whole thing is both charming and ingenious - a complete delight. The songs each of them is given are either funny, or gorgeous, or both (in the case of "Et puis crac!"). It's all hysterically French, as you say - in all the best ways. And re your last sentence, so am I.