Chabrier’s L’etoile will get an effervescent and witty efficiency in Glasgow – Seen and Heard International

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Chabrier’s L’etoile will get an effervescent and witty efficiency in Glasgow – Seen and Heard International


Chabrier’s L’etoile will get an effervescent and witty efficiency in Glasgow – Seen and Heard InternationalUnited Kingdom Chabrier, L’etoile: Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland / Philippe Forget (conductor), New Atheneum Theatre, Glasgow, 3.2.2023. (GT)

Hannah Bennett (Lazuli) © Robbie McFadzean

Production:
Director – PJ Harris
Designer – Anna Yates
Lighting – Emma Jones
Movement director – Jack Webb
Chorus grasp – Mark Sandon

Cast:
King Ouf – William Searle
Siroco – Ross Cumming
Lazuli – Hannah Bennett
Le Chef de la Police – William Costello
Le Maitre – Tzu Ping Lo
Un domestique – Reuben Wilmshurst
Princess Laoula – Marie Cayeux
Hérisson de Porc-Epic – Sam Marston
Aloès – Megan Baker
Tapioca – James McIntyre
Patacha – Fanzhuo Wei
Zalzal – William Semple
Oasis – Laura Coppinger
Asphodel – Jessica Harper
Youka – Rachel McLean
Adza – Rachel Barnard
Zinnia – Parker Millspaugh
Koukouli – Heiltje de Bruin
Le Maire – Claire Lumsden

This presentation of Emmanuel Chabrier’s L’etoile is barely the second to be carried out in Scotland following the Edinburgh International Festival’s survey of Chabrier 39 years in the past. The manufacturing in Edinburgh was by the Lyon Opera, who additionally made the debut industrial recording of the opera. The opera was the primary to be composed by Chabrier and influenced by his buddy Paul Verlaine and was staged in 1877 at Offenbach’s personal Théâtre des Bouffes Parisiens, with a libretto, by Eugène Leterrier and Albert Vanloo.

Chabrier was a magnificently gifted composer, nevertheless a lot of his works have been uncared for; there was a revival in 1941 when L’etoile was staged in Paris and on French radio throughout his beginning centenary. Regardless of the admiration by Debussy, Ravel and Stravinsky (who referred to as L’etoile a masterpiece), this opera has been hardly ever staged in even French theatres. Nevertheless, Chabrier’s debut opera has slowly been revived within the US and in Europe and at Covent Garden in 2016 in a well-received staging.

It is straightforward to see why the opera was uncared for for the plot is sort of absurd and tough to observe for many who will not be Francophiles. Yet the music is glowing in its melodic qualities and richness in orchestral and vocal writing.

Several of the character’s names are puns: King Ouf (Fou), Prince Hérisson le Porc-Epic (Prince Hedgehog the Porcupine), the peddler Lazuli (half of Lapis Lazuli, or aquamarine blue) and Hérisson’s secretary Tapioca (as within the pudding). Laoula’s identify has a weird connotation: in numerology, it has the life path of 8, suggesting the stability of the non secular and materials planes, energy, fame and cash. The staging all through has at its centre an excellent framed pentagonal construction which at instances, lights up and at its centre, photographs of the king or his bride. Throughout the present, the pentagon revolves helping the momentum of the swiftly transferring occasions on stage. The costumes are trendy and vibrant with a penchant in the direction of the absurd and the slapstick excesses of the opera.

Act I takes place in a seaside city in Ouf’s kingdom. It is the day of the annual execution pageant, and the king is searching for an appropriate sufferer – but he’s paranoid – and added a clause to his will that his astrologer, Siroco, will die fifteen minutes after his personal demise. Here, a wierd group arrive within the resort secretly dressed as vacationers, but they’re ambassador Hérisson de Porc-Epic, his spouse, Aloès, his secretary, Tapioca, and Princess Laoula. Their mission, of which Laoula is unaware, is to marry her to King Ouf to settle the diplomatic strains between the 2 nations.

For causes unbeknown to anyone apart from the ambassador, Hérisson pretends that the Princess is his spouse. Whereas Lazuli, a pedlar, is hopeful his fortune can change and offers all his cash to the astrologist, Siroco, to see what the celebs have in retailer for him. Lazuli immediately falls in love with Princess Laoula, unaware of her royal standing. Here Laoula is the French-born mezzo soprano Marie Cayeux who exhibits each nuance of attraction and humour in her air ‘Tous deux assis dans le bateau’. She is interrupted by the ambassador, who declares that he’s Laoula’s husband (regardless that he isn’t!). Left alone, Lazuli is devastated, and in her air, ‘Oh ma petite étoile’ within the ‘trousers role’, Hannah Bennett is magnificent from the excessive to the low notes, voiced with splendidly expressed colors and characterisation.

Ouf sees the distressed Lazuli as a primary sufferer of his execution pageant. The pageant begins, however simply as Lazuli is about to be executed, Siroco reveals that the fates of the king and Lazuli are inextricably linked; the celebs predict that they may die inside 24 hours of one another. Fearful of his demise, Ouf rapidly places a cease to the execution, and Lazuli is taken to the palace.

In Act II, we’re within the throne room, the place Lazuli is bored and longs for Laoula. He makes an attempt to flee by leaping out of the window, however the king guarantees freedom ought to he return. Lazuli declares that he’s in love, and the king vows to assist him so as to hold Lazuli (and himself) alive. The vacationers return now dressed as a overseas delegation, and complete chaos ensues: Lazuli tells the king that Hérisson is the husband of Laoula (that is false); the king has ambassador Hérrison arrested and now confuses the id of his bride assuming it’s the ambassador’s spouse, Aloès.

Ouf has Aloès despatched for the official presentation and helps the 2 lovers elope, unaware he’s serving to his bride to flee! Hérisson frees himself and discovers the king has helped Laoula and Lazuli escape. He orders their boat to be destroyed. We see a handheld rocket launcher fired. Yet Laoula survives and is introduced in. Lazuli is lacking, presumed lifeless. Ouf and Siroco dwell on their impending deaths.

Act III takes place within the royal crypt, the place the king’s coffin is on stage. The Chief of Police tells of Lazuli’s demise nevertheless Lazuli has escaped hurt and overhears the Ouf, Siroco and Hérisson unravelling all of the confusion! Eventually, Lazuli reveals himself to Laoula, and in a masterly staged sequence, they plan a second elopement. The king and Siroco try and numb the worry of their impending deaths by consuming inexperienced chartreuse. Ouf, determined to provide an inheritor to the throne, makes an attempt to marry Laoula, if just for a second, however in keeping with the digital clock, he has run out of time. Ouf climbs into his coffin, however because the clock strikes 5 – nothing occurs. The Chief of Police seems with Lazuli, who was on his manner out of city, and the king permits Lazuli and Laoula to be collectively in a cheerful ending to this absurd but hilarious operetta.

Anna Yates’s designs allowed every little thing to maneuver beautifully in keeping with Chabrier’s vibrant and comedian harmonies and there have been swiftly altering scenes from foolish slapstick to the masterly enacted refrain scenes, At the centre was the route of Philippe Forget and his musicians of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland with notable solo passages from the violin of Nikodem Rodzeń, the flute of Agne Burbaite, the oboe of Laura Ritchie with the timpani of Andrew Murphy beautiful of their musicality.

William Searle (King Ouf) and Ross Cumming (Siroco) © Robbie McFadzean

Of the singers, the King Ouf of tenor William Searle and Ross Cumming’s bass voice as Siroco, each exhibited high-quality singing and wonderful appearing worthy of any stage – most notably within the parody ‘Chartreuse’ duet. Sam Marston as Hérisson de Porc-Epic was wonderful in dealing with his multifaceted position, and his spouse Aloès, was beautifully characterised by Megan Baker’s deft appearing and beautiful mezzo-soprano. The giant choreographed scenes have been excellent; each secondary character was in concord with this advanced stage work, expressly within the abduction trio, the ‘kisses’ quartet, and the ‘tickle’ trio.

The mastermind of the manufacturing was past query the director PJ Harris who had masterfully conceived this manufacturing true to the composer’s creativity but tailored to immediately’s trendy world. The stage design by Anna Yates was wonderful, enhanced by the lighting and the choreography by Jack Webb and Mark Gibson, making this a spotlight of the opera season in Scotland.

Gregor Tassie

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