La belle Hélène

With opéra-bouffe "La belle Hélène", Messrs. Meilhac, Halévy and Offenbach loosen their satirical arrows on a number of sacred French institutions, such as marriage and adultery. Ancient Greek mythology too gets a panning. Here, for instance, Orestes (usually performed as a trousers role) is a wastrel intent on spending the taxpayer's dime on scantily clad beauties. From a musical viewpoint, Offenbach also pokes fun at fellow composers, deceased or living. Lovers of the opera genre can try and put names on the victims.

If you like "La belle Hélène", you'll be sure to like this exquisite production. Light, airy and racy, it fizzes along beautifully, bringing out both the fun and the sharpness. Felicity Lott, whose French is admirable, makes for a very funny Helen, while Yann Beuron shines as a cocky prince Paris aka The Apple Man.

The abduction story is supposed to play out in the imagination of a bored and affection-starved housewife, which allows for clever visual finds such as the invasion of a normal, average-looking marital bedroom by a flower-toting religious procession. In Act Two, the selfsame bed shows up against the background of an archaeological dig unearthing a mosaic on the "Leda and the Swan" theme. And in Act Three, the bed becomes a sailing ship carrying the Oracle of Aphrodite, who, of course, is none other than Paris. (Do watch Yann Beuron's flippant turn as a pompadour-wearing yodeler.) In the thrilling - and tipsy - finale, Helen and her lover are carried heavenward on the bed as if on some magical carpet. As a framework plus staging device this works out quite well. For all of us (whether young or middle-aged, plain or beautiful) need dreams, romance and escape in our lives...

Not to be missed.

"La Belle Hélène" is one of two Offenbach parodies of Greek mythology, the other being "Orpheus in the Underworld" ("Orphée aux enfers"). Hélène is, of course, Helen of Sparta later known as Helen of Troy, whose abduction by Paris, son of King Priam of Troy, was the legendary basis for the semi-legendary Trojan War.

I would recommend that the fairly short "Behind-the-Scenes" documentary be viewed before the operetta as it gives a good idea of the concepts of the creators of this production, particularly Laurent Pelly, the costume and stage director and Jean-Pierre Brossman, the Châtelet theater director. The latter is subtitled, no doubt because he speaks in heavily-accented English. (Only the British star, Dame Felicity Lott is not subtitled.) The opening scene shows Dame Felicity going to bed with her unexciting old husband Michel Sénéchal and dreaming herself into the part of Helen and her husband into Menelaus (Not Offenbach's concept, needless to say.). Talented and attractive though she may be, Felicity does not have the "face that launched a thousand ships." and this is a good way around that. Yann Beuron as Paris has a characteristic French tenor voice with very bright, almost over-sung, high notes that he takes good advantage of. Marie-Ange Torodovitch sings the "trouser-role" of the nephew Orestes who may be seen as a close relation of Nicklaus in "Tales of Hoffmann".

The third act takes place at a beach resort and this does go along with the original concept. The swim suits, no doubt, are more abbreviated than they might have been in the 19th century especially those for the men and there is "something for everybody" here.

There are many updated references originally to the Empire Period (Napoleon 3). Some oddities include the substitution of the English word "Yes" instead of the French "oui" and a comment after a character says "J'expire" (I die.) or something to that effect, the remark is "What does 'Shakespeare' have to do with this?" All the musical numbers are presented in a bright, amusing fashion and the dancing is excellent.

The music is more familiar than one might have thought since the Overture which foreshadows the various arias and choruses is often played. Marc Minkowski is the excellent conductor.

La Belle Helene is one of Offenbach's best works, so naturally I would see and hope to love any production of it. This production is simply terrific, I'd go as far to say that I put it on the same level as the wonderful Kasarova/Nikiteanu/Chausson performance. The costumes and sets are imaginative and pleasing to look at, and I also loved the witty and quite broad stage direction. There are many moments that delighted me such as the staging of the Dream Duet, but the highlight was the Act 1 finale involving Menalus, eight dancers dressed as travel agents and a freshly choreographed if brief Can-Can. The digs at the organised and somewhat cynical religion as well as the social satire are wonderfully stinging as well. Musically, it is superb as well, I loved how stylish the orchestral playing was as well as how lively the chorus singing was and the perfectly judged conducting. The performances are just great. Felicity Lott is perhaps older than Helene usually is and her voice has been more resplendent before, but she is still attractive, sings with bite and nuances and is both dignified and fun in her acting. Yann Bueron sings confidently with no signs of strain and he does comedy quite well. Marie-Ange Torodovitch is a magnificent Oreste, singing and acting with aching nobility that is enough to tug your heartstrings, while Michel Senechal is deliciously sly as Menalus. Francois Le Roux is not quite as wickedly funny as Carlos Chausson but still makes a positive impression, and Laurent Naouri is his usual solid self. Overall, a Bon-Bon of a production. 10/10 Bethany Cox