Jacgues Offenbach - La Belle Helene (DVD)

I have written at length on these pages about the works of Gilbert and Sullivan. I have also discovered and learned to enjoy the source of their inspiration, the operettas of Offenbach. Although the full catalogue is perhaps not so well known to an English audience, there is still a wealth of music which is familiar to even the most untrained ear. I have experience of seven of the titles in various formats. The work under review here was written ...
...stage.

OFFENBACH

Jacques Offenbach (a German jew) was born Jakob Wiener in Cologne in 1819. His family moved to France when he was a boy. He studied cello in Paris and initially earned his living playing in the orchestra of the Opera Comique. In 1850 he became conductor of the Theatre Francais and started to compose light and humorous operettas. He founded a theatrical company (the Bouffes-Parisiens) in 1855 which staged ... more

I have written at length on these pages about the works of Gilbert and Sullivan. I have also discovered and learned to enjoy the source of their inspiration, the operettas of Offenbach. Although the full catalogue is perhaps not so well known to an English audience, there is still a wealth of music which is familiar to even the most untrained ear. I have experience of seven of the titles in various formats. The work under review here was written about 15 years before HMS Pinafore appeared on the London stage.

OFFENBACH

Jacques Offenbach (a German jew) was born Jakob Wiener in Cologne in 1819. His family moved to France when he was a boy. He studied cello in Paris and initially earned his living playing in the orchestra of the Opera Comique. In 1850 he became conductor of the Theatre Francais and started to compose light and humorous operettas. He founded a theatrical company (the Bouffes-Parisiens) in 1855 which staged many of his operettas.

He was granted French citizenship by Emperor Louis-Napoleon in 1860. Between 1858 and 1880 he wrote over 100 operettas and other works, guaranteeing his great popularity the world over. The most enduring of these are The Grand Six: Orpheus in the Underworld (1858), La Belle Hélène (1864), La Vie Parisienne (1866), La Grande-Duchesse de Gerolstein (1867), La Perichole (1868) and The Tales of Hoffmann. Offenbach was still working on this latter piece at the time of his death (October 5th 1880) and it was subsequently completed by others for performance purposes.

It was to provide a curtain raiser for a performance of La Perichole in London that Arthur Sullivan and W.S. Gilbert were brought together by Richard D'Oyly Carte. Both men remained highly influenced by Offenbach's music throughout their careers.

Offenbach had dabbled with stories of Greek mythology before he started La Belle Hélène. This new operetta was to be his take on the story of the capture of Helene, Queen of Sparta and the onset of the Trojan Wars but mixed within this was a send up of the Third Republic and France of the day. The moral attitudes of French society were lax, financial and religious scandals abounded and tourism and sea bathing were becoming popular. The librettists were Henri Meilhec and Ludovic Halévy.

LA BELLE HÉLÈNE AT THE THÉÀTRE MUSICAL DE PARIS - CHÂTELET

A new production of La Belle Hélène was staged in Paris in 2000. The operetta was revised and updated in a collaboration by Laurent Pelly (stage director) and Marc Minkowsi (conductor). They chose established performers from mainstream opera for the central characters. They also decided to use a full orchestra with a large chorus and dance troupe. Their idea was to remain as faithful to Offenbach's original plot as possible but bringing comic references up to date. To maintain the aura of fantasy they made the leading lady into a bored middle aged suburban housewife yearning for some love and excitement in her life who becomes Helen in her dreams.

The principals are:

Helen, Queen of Sparta --- Dame Felicity Lott
Paris, son of Priam of Troy --- Yann Beuron
Menelaus, King of Sparta --- Michel Sénéchal
Calchas, High Priest of Jupiter --- François Le Roux
Orestes, son of Agamemnon --- Marie-Ange Torodovitch

Orchestra and Chorus: Les Musiciens Du Louvre - Grenoble.
Conducted by Marc Minkowski

Act I is set in Helen's modern day bedroom where her portly husband is already asleep. Music (the overture) is playing on an old radio. The stage is quite dark, lit only by two bedside lights. Helen takes sleeping tablets and settles down to sleep. The chorus and dancers now appear dressed in blue and white offering flowers to the Gods. It is immediately apparent from this opening song ("To bow to Jupiter we gather at the shrine") the inspiration on later works such as Iolanthe and The Mikado. The crowds depart to reveal Calchas sitting clutching a bedside lamp. He bemoans the current lack of respect for the Gods, the poor quality of the offerings - no sacrifices - and introduces the Judgement of Paris. The chorus return and gather around the bed as Helen awakes. At this point Helen discusses her heritage and future with Calchas and she learns of her status as 'prize'. There is a short interlude when her nephew, Orestes (Agamemnon's son - but always played by a female) arrives accompanied by two scantily dressed companions. Helen goes back to sleep. Paris appears, makes himself known to Calchus and delivers a message from Venus by a white dove. He then describes the competition in which he judged the beauty of three goddesses (they are projected as giant silhouettes on the backdrop) and awards the golden apple to Venus. In return she grants him the most beautiful woman in the world - who happens to be Helen. Helen wakes up and is immediately smitten by Paris. At this point there is a procession to announce the arrival of the Kings of Greece. During this session Helen's husband wakes up and is now King Menelaus. They all enjot games and a 'Mastermind' competition is set up. Paris wanders in from the bathroom dressed only in a towel and wins. Helen is encouraged to present him with his laurel leaf. Dinner is called and Calchas schemes to dispose of Menelaus. The final scene sees him reluctantly taking a suitcase with the chorus in full flow singing "The Gods tell you to go to Crete"

The Entr'acte which features the well known La Belle Hélène waltz leads into Act II. This is still based around the bedroom but now it has become an excavation site. There is a large mural on the wall depicting the maiden Leda being seduced by Jupiter in the guise of a swan (Helen's parents). With Menelaus gone she is having second thoughts. She seeks guidance from Venus ("Invocation to Venus") about the consequences if her virtue is compromised by Paris. All the time her maid is trying to persuade her to get dressed for the feast. Paris arrives to claim his prize and tells her that there are three ways to seduce a woman: "Love, Violence or Cunning". He will have to use the latter to overcome her reserve. The portrayal of Helen as a spoiled adolescence during these exchanges is both poignant and funny. She tells Paris to go away but he hides in her bedroom. Helen then asks Calchas to bring her sleep and a good dream. She retires to bed. Paris approaches and she wakes up thinking that this is a dream. This leads into the love duet and the effect is heightened by the chorus coming in dressed as sheep. The love making is interrupted by Menelaus returning unexpectedly, finding Helen and Paris in bed. Outraged he summons the Kings of Greece demanding that they outlaw the suitor. Paris is sent packing with threats to return to claim his prize.

Act III commences with a tableau before the curtain rises of the dancers acting out an aerial swimming regime. Helen has moved the court to the beach at Nauplia. Menelaus remains very aggrieved but Agamemnon and Calchas claim that he made Venus angry by going against her plans. Greece has been turned into one big orgy with husbands abandoning wives and wives leaving husbands. They demand that Menelaus make a sacrifice of atonement. Instead he summons the High Priest of Venus for a solution much to Calchas' annoyance. When he arrives (aboard a flying bedstead dressed up looking like Elvis in dark glasses and toga) he says that Helen must go with him to the island of Cytheria to make sacrifices. He sings a song to Venus which has yodelling overtones. A rather tipsy Helen arrives. Under pressure from Menelaus, Helen gets into the boat and as it leaves the shore, the High Priest throws off his disguise and reveals himself to be Paris and that he is taking Helen off to Troy.

This production is sung in French (although I switched on the English subtitles). The libretto is written in short rhyming couplets which are often repeated. Even with my dim schoolboy recollection of the language, the soloists' diction, actions and facial expressions make the plot is very easy to follow. The voices are excellent, clear and unforced. Dame Felicity is a delight and can handle the vocals with clear diction as well as the humorous and sultry actions. Yann Beuron is a young classical operatic tenor and holds the pace and pitch with ease. Michel Sénéchal is the typical opera-bouffe comic - not necessarily with a well endowed voice but with good timing. François Le Roux is a stalwart of this theatre company.

This is all backed by a full sized orchestra under the direction of a confident conductor. The tempi are irresistible, the crescendos intense but never drown out the performers. The costumes are, to say the least, bizarre. Calchas for instance is dressed in a half-suit, half toga (reminiscent of the two-person characters that Ronnie Barker used to do). In Act III Menelaus is wearing a cloth cap and has a raincoat over his toga over his suit trousers. The four kings appear in helmets that have sweeping brushes attached to the top. When not in classic Greek robes, the chorus appears dressed as tourists. The dancers wear skimpy beachwear. The scenery is kept simple and is generally modern in appearance with Greek influences and signage.

THE DVD

La Belle Hélène is an operetta in three acts. This production is presented on a single sided DVD-9 disc. My copy was a PAL region 2 disc in a 16:9 wide screen format. The front menu gives the option of full play; select chapters; behind the scenes and set up.

The video editing is excellent throughout with a sympathetic blend of full width stage views and close up camera work. There is no feeling that you are missing any of the action. The sound quality is very well balanced - footsteps on stage can be heard and there is a gentle lapping of waves offstage left during act III. In general the English subtitles at least (I haven't looked at any of the others) are unobtrusive and synchronise well with the words. There is perhaps one unfortunate and unnecessary translation at the end of Act II when Paris is told explicitly to "P*** Off!"

The operetta has a playing time of 127 minutes (Act I - 57 minutes; Act II - 41 minutes; Act III - 35 minutes). There are three soundtrack options: PCM Stereo; AC3 Digital and DTS surround sound. Subtitles are offered in English, German, French, Spanish and Italian.

The titles come over as flickering cinema images. Each act is prefaced by a brief description of the action.

The extras (26 minutes) consist of a series of four interviews about the production. First up is Jean-Pierre Brossman who is Director General of the Theatre Musical de Paris. In a five minute chat in English he introduces this new venture and also explains that integral to its production was the development of a permanent record for both DVD distribution and television broadcast. He is followed by Laurent Pelly, the Stage Director and Marc Minkowski, the conductor who between them co-ordinated the production. They speak in French withy subtitles. Finally there is a ten minute chat with Dame Felicity Lott who explains candidly how she enjoys France and the French despite being an English lady.

The standard DVD case also contains a sixteen page booklet which has a track listing and an introduction to the operetta and the works of Offenbach in English, French and German.

On my test bed (see below) this DVD gave a superbly crisp picture.

Apart from the first, the accompanying pictures are screen captures from the DVD performances.

DAME FELICITY LOTT

Born in Cheltenham in May 1947 she has studied in at the Royal Holloway College, University of London and Royal Academy of Music. She has studied in France and is fluent in French. She has sung in opera at Covent Garden and Glyndebourne. She has been awarded the French Legion of Honour and was made a DBE in 1996.

LA BELLE HÉLÈNE: TDK DVD (2001) DV-OPLBH

Amazon.co.uk: £ 24.99

Audio samples from this production (they are taken from the CD version) can be found at:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00005A9NM/sr=1-7/qid=1154792915/ref=sr_1_7/202-4849721-7555032?ie=UTF8&s=classical

Does it work? Well, taking everything together - words, music, soloists, actions, humour, staging - yes it does. It is a joyful, fun filled experience and the time spent watching flies. This production is a real gem and this DVD is a thoroughly recommended souvenir of it.

THE TEST BED

DVD: Denon 2800 Progressive scan
Amp: Denon AVR 3802
Screen: Pioneer HDE503E 50" plasma
5-1 surround speakers
Dts sound track

POSTSCRIPT

I bought this DVD about one year ago as part of an expanding collection of Offenbach. I had the delightful experience of being able to see this same stage production when it was brought to the Colliseum Theatre in London for a short season in May 2006 by the English National Opera. The scenery, actions and costumes were identical. Dame Felicity Lott was cast as Helene.

Having got used to listening to it in French it was quite a surprise to hear it in a new English translation. They still used the surtitle system to keep things clear though! There were some critics at the time (I seem to remember that David Mellor was one of them) that decried performances that were not given in their native language. I have always believed that it is an enhancement to understand everything that is going on and if a translation brings the work to a much wider audience then so much the better.

If you go to Paris look this theatre out. If the opportunity ever comes around again in the UK, I commend this to you as well.
 

...less