The music of Jacques Offenbach defines the intoxicating, hedonistic spirit of Paris in the mid-19th century. Above all, there is the galop infernal from Orphée aux enfers, often known simply as ‘the can-can’. That Offenbach also had a gift for lyricism is clear from his haunting, lilting Barcarolle, a highlight of his opera Les Contes d’Hoffmann. Both pieces feature in this irresistible collection of operetta, opera and orchestral music. Alongside many treasures from the Warner Classics catalogue, it contains the first-time release of Musette for cello and orchestra in performance by Edgar Moreau with Les Forces Majeures and Raphaël Merlin.The music of Jacques Offenbach defines the intoxicating, hedonistic spirit of Paris in the mid-19th century. Above all there is the ‘Galop infernal’ often known simply as ‘The Can-Can’. This album is an irresistable collection of operetta, opera and orchestral music.
Offenbach: La Vie parisienne: Gaîté parisienne – Can-Can No. 4 (From Orphée aux enfers)
- L’Orchestre National de l’Opéra de Monte-Carlo
- Manuel Rosenthal
Offenbach: Orphée aux Enfers Overture
- Orchestre de l’Opéra de Lyon, Orchestre de Chambre de Grenoble
- Marc Minkowski
Offenbach: Orphée aux enfers, Act 1
- Yann Beuron (tenor), Natalie Dessay (soprano)
- Opéra National de Lyon, Orchestre de Chambre de Grenoble
- Marc Minkowski
“Ah! c’est ainsi!” (Orphée, Eurydice)
Ballet pastoral
“La mort m’apparaît souriante” (Eurydice)
Offenbach: Orphée aux enfers, Act 1: “Eh hop! Eh hop!” (Mercure, All)
- Patricia Petibon (soprano), Steven Cole (tenor), Virginie Pochon (soprano), Yann Beuron (tenor), Véronique Gens (soprano), Laurent Naouri (baritone), Lydie Pruvot (soprano), Jean-Paul Fouchécourt (tenor), Ewa Podles (mezzo-soprano), Jennifer Smith (soprano), Etienne Lescroart (tenor), Natalie Dessay (soprano)
- Choeur de l’Opéra National de Lyon, Opéra National de Lyon, Orchestre de Chambre de Grenoble
- Marc Minkowski
Offenbach: Fantasio, Act 1: “Voyez dans la nuit brune” (Fantasio)
- Marianne Crebassa (mezzo-soprano)
- Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg
- Marc Minkowski
Offenbach: Les bavards: Overture
- Orchestre lyrique de l’O.R.T.F.
- Marcel Couraud
Offenbach: Ba-ta-clan: Le Ba-ta-clan et Final (All, Chorus)
- Huguette Boulangeot (soprano), René Terrasson (bass), Raymond Amade (tenor), Rémy Corazza (tenor)
- Chorale Philippe Caillard, Orchestre Jean-François Paillard
- Marcel Couraud
Offenbach: La Fille du tambour-major, Act 1: “Ce n’est pas un âne ordinaire” (Claudine, Robert, Chorus)
- Nadine Sautereau (soprano), Michel Dens (baritone)
- Paris Conservatoire Orchestra, Choeur René Duclos
- Félix Nuvolone
Offenbach: La Fille du tambour-major, Act 2: “C’est mon billet de logement” (Griolet, Le Duc, Robert, Monthabor)
- Michel Dens (baritone), Rémy Corazza (tenor), Joseph Peyron (tenor), Dominique Tirmont (bass-baritone)
- Paris Conservatoire Orchestra
- Félix Nuvolone
Offenbach: La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein, Act 1
- Maryline Fallot (soprano), Grenoble, Yann Beuron (tenor), Les Musiciens du Louvre, Dame Felicity Lott (soprano), Jennifer Tani (soprano), Franck Leguérinel (baritone), Sandrine Piau (soprano), Alain Gabriel (tenor), François Le Roux (bass-baritone), Aurélia Legay (soprano), Blandine Staskiewicz (mezzo-soprano), Eric Huchet (tenor), Boris Grappe (baritone), Christophe Grapperon (baritone)
- Choeur des Musiciens du Louvre
- Marc Minkowski
Overture
“A cheval sur la discipline … ” (Boum, Chorus, Fritz)
“Et Pif, Paf, Pouf” (Chorus, Fritz, Boum)
“Ah! que j’aime les militaires” (Duchesse, Fritz, Puck, Boum, Chorus)
“Ah! C’est un fameux regiment” (Duchesse, Chorus, All)
“Voici le sabre de mon père” (Duchesse, All)