Opera Zuid's initiative to program Chabrier's rarely performed opéra bouffe is to be commended. However, the production struggles with the very delicate balance between comedy and wit, certainly one of the reasons why the work is rarely performed.
Emmanuel Chabrier (1841-1894) hails from Auvergne. With his parents, he moves to Paris, where he has the opportunity to immerse himself in the artistic scene of late 19th-century Paris. Between his law studies, Chabrier takes violin lessons and classes in harmony, fugue and counterpoint. He becomes acquainted with Paul Verlaine and Edouard Manet and through them with librettists Eugène Leterrier and Albert Vanloo. They present Chabrier with their latest libretto. Chabrier sees the opportunity to celebrate not only his sense of humor but also his passion for flowing melodies, and he seizes the chance with both hands. Eventually, he manages to convince the management of Les Bouffes-Parisiens and "L'Etoile" premieres on November 28, 1877. The success is moderate and the opera only achieves real success after a performance at the Opéra Comique in Paris in 1941. It is Chabrier's first completed opera. Later works include Gwendoline (premiere at the Muntschouwburg in Brussels in April 1886) and Le Roi malgré lui. However, we cannot yet speak of it as a permanent fixture in the repertoire.
Light-hearted story
The story concerns a king who is not so much corrupt as unstable and above all a dreamer. His name "Ouf" makes it clear in reverse what his main character trait is, namely "fou". Chabrier also hides funny double meanings in the names of the other characters. Every year, King Ouf has a subject executed. He chooses someone who has supposedly insulted him and who deserves death for this affront to majesty. This year's victim is the unsuspecting market vendor Lazuli. He falls in love with "Princess" Laoula, a beautiful young girl who is still finding her way in life, as her name suggests: là ou là. She appears in a so-called "diplomatic delegation". The relationship between Lazuli and Laoula has at least a burlesque course, including a pseudo-drowning of Lazuli. But when the court astrologer Sirocco makes it clear that according to the stars, the fate of the king is linked to that of Lazuli, the execution is called off and Lazuli is even allowed to marry Princess Laoula. Ouf, everyone is saved!
Sharp wit is lacking
As is often the case in a comic work, side intrigues provide amusing confusion and surprising turns, which is no different in "L'Etoile". Unfortunately, Matthew Eberhardt's production lacked the imagination and properly calibrated satirical assessment of the situations. The set shows a fairly realistic carousel with hobby horses and a large throne for Ouf, against the background of an admittedly "lazuli"-blue sky, but it comes across more as a scene for a children's fairy tale than as an unreal setting for a parody. Satire on "established power" regularly results in rather ridiculous scenes rather than wit; for example, the scene with the "torture device" for skewering with which the execution would take place. Giving the fortune teller Sirocco the appearance of a Jew was, given his deceptive predictions, a somewhat successful parody. The stall of the vendor Lazuli has some playfulness, but the scenes with the princesses and the entire entourage of Hérisson de Porc-Epic lack amusing surprise, so that boredom eventually sets in. In the second act, the humor is somewhat better, including the otherwise long "chartreuse" passage that shows Ouf and Sirocco "little stars". The added value of Waut Koeken's adapted dialogue also escapes me. The production fails to grasp the absurdity of the story and misses the line between ambiguity and stupid gag.Musically too demanding
That you need singers for such an opera who play spontaneously and lively and a lively orchestra is self-evident. Here too, unfortunately, the shoe pinches. Erik Silk donned the kingly robes of Ouf, but I fear they did not fit him well. His acting came across as forced and certainly had an influence on his vocal performance. I suspect that this singer feels more at home in a serious role. Martijn Sanders brought the ambiguous role of Sirocco to the stage convincingly both vocally and as an actor. Anna Emelianova undoubtedly stole the show. She sang her princess role with a light high soprano and shone in the coloratura passages. Brenda Poupard was convincing as the sometimes naive, sometimes melancholic Lazuli, with the beautiful "Romance de l'étoile". Her voice sounds supple and has a beautiful timbre, but unfortunately she does not project her voice into the auditorium. This brings me to a general observation about the acoustics of the Parktheater. Although this is a beautiful theater, the acoustics for this type of musical performance are far from ideal. The Philzouth orchestra, under the direction of Nicolas Krüger, plays itself into the ground with this swirling operetta music, but the rhythmic bravura and certainly the lyrical melodies do not reach the auditorium from the orchestra pit. The cheerful choir fragments from the Theaterkoor Opera Zuid provide a positive note. Chabrier's L'Etoile is certainly worth discovering, but this production immediately puts its finger on the sore points of this operetta repertoire.[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGrFSPhnJh8[/embed]