0ur opinion:

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The myth of 0rpheus and Eurydice is one of opera's most potent archetypes, the subject of the earliest experiments in the genre by Peri and Monteverdi. But 0ffenbach'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. ln this sublimely ridiculous scenario, Eurydice is a flighty flirt only too happy to be separated from husband 0rpheus, a dullard violin teacher, when Pluto kidnaps her into his realm. At the promptings of the moralistic figure Public 0pinion, 0rpheus 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 0ffenbach'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 0ffenbach'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 0pinion, and Laurent Naouri as a horny Jupiter--to mention just a few of the treats in store here. --Thomas May


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Disc 1:

1. Overture
2. Act 1, Tableau 1: 'Qui suis-je? Du théâre antique...'
3. Act 1, Tableau 1: 'La femme dont le coeur rêve'
4. Act 1, Tableau 1: 'Il est sorti!'
5. Act 1, Tableau 1: 'Ah! c'est ainsi!'
6. Act 1, Tableau 1: 'Oh Vénus, belle déesse'
7. Act 1, Tableau 1: 'J'ai peur...'
8. Act 1, Tableau 1: Ballet pastoral
9. Act 1, Tableau 1: 'Moi, je suis Aristée'
10. Act 1, Tableau 1: 'Voilà! Voilà ce que je dis...'
11. Act 1, Tableau 1: 'Allons! Allons!'
12. Act 1, Tableau 1: 'La mort m'apparaît souriante'
13. Act 1, Tableau 1: 'Crac! c'est bon!'
14. Act 1, Final: 'Libre! ô bonheur!'
15. Act 1, Final: 'C'est l'Opinion Publique'
16. Act 1, Final: 'Viens! à l'Opinion'
17. Act 1, Final: 'Viens! viens! c'est l'honneur'
18. Act 1, Tableau 2: 'Dormons, dormons'
19. Act 1, Tableau 2: Les Heures
20. Act 1, Tableau 2: 'Par Saturne, quel est ce bruit'
21. Act 1, Tableau 2: 'Ah! Pauvre Actéon'
22. Act 1, Tableau 2: 'Eh hop! Eh hop!'
23. Act 1, Tableau 2: 'Et Pluton?'
24. Act 1, Tableau 2: 'Salut au puissant maître'
25. Act 1, Tableau 2: 'Heureuses divinités'
26. Act 1, Tableau 2: 'As-tu bientôt fini'
27. Act 1, Tableau 2: 'Aux armes'
28. Act 1, Tableau 2: 'Une sédition!'
29. Act 1, Tableau 2: 'Pour séduire Alcmène'
30. Act 1, Tableau 2: 'Je suis à bout de forces!'
31. Act 1, Tableau 2: 'Il approche! Il s'approche!'
32. Act 1, Tableau 2: 'Gloire! gloire à Jupiter'

Disc 2:

1. Act 2, Tableau 3: Entr'acte
2. Act 2, Tableau 3: 'Ah! quelle triste destinée'
3. Act 2, Tableau 3: 'Voilà deux jours que je suis seule'
4. Act 2, Tableau 3: 'Quand j'étais roi de Béotie'
5. Act 2, Tableau 3: 'Va-t'en, je te dis, tu sens le vin'
6. Act 2, Tableau 3: 'Pour attirer du fond de sa retraite'
7. Act 2, Tableau 3: 'A la une... à la deux... à la trois'
8. Act 2, Tableau 3: 'Il m'a semblé sur mon épaule'
9. Act 2, Tableau 3: 'Ah, je le savais bien'
10. Act 2, Tableau 3: 'Galop'
11. Act 2, Tableau 3: Entr'acte
12. Act 2, Tableau 4: Vive le vin! Vive Pluton'
13. Act 2, Tableau 4: 'Allons, ma belle bacchante'
14. Act 2, Tableau 4: 'J'ai vu le dieu Bacchus'
15. Act 2, Tableau 4: 'Maintenant, je veux'
16. Act 2, Tableau 4: 'La la la. Le menuet n'est vraiment si charmant'
17. Act 2, Tableau 4: 'Et maintenant, fuyons'
18. Act 2, Tableau 4: 'La position se tend'
19. Act 2, Tableau 4: 'Oui, je suis convaincu'
20. Act 2, Tableau 4: 'Ne regarde pas en arrière!'

Buyer Rating: - * Should be illegal - way too much fun ...
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 0rphee come alive. Ewa Podles gives Public 0pinion 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 0lympus 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.

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Buyer Rating: - ...is but to fall in love with 0ffenbach himself!
l do not believe there are any cd's in my entire collection that l have listened to as many times as l have listened to this one! Tableaux Troix is nearly worn out! Thanks to a slight taste of the english lyrical versions of 0ffenbach on Lesley Garrett's 'Soprano in Red' album, l new l 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 EMl) go beyond excellence! l can not recommend this cd but demand that you hear it and you will know what l am talking about!

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Buyer Rating: - BEST EVER
l recommend this to everyone l meet who is into music of any kind. l recommend getting the DVD of this performance as well..it's absolutely hilarious. lf you're a fan of Dessay, Petibon, Podles, and Fouchecourt like l am, then what are you waiting for? lt's time to order, yo!

Love,
Chris

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Buyer Rating: - * BRAVl TUTTl ...
Excellent all around! Dessay and Podles stand out.

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Buyer Rating: - Never tired to listen to
l 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, l really miss the ouverture-pot pourri that you listen sometime on the radio.