Offenbach : Patriotic trio (La Belle Hélène)

From a wonderfully funny & spirited production of Offenbach's "La Belle Hélène", given at Paris Théâtre du Châtelet in 2001.
Michel Sénéchal is Ménélas, Laurent Naouri is Agamemnon, François Le Roux is Calchas...
Mythology at its funniest !
Conductor : Mark Minkowski / Stage production : Laurent Pelly

Category:

Music

Tags:

• offenbach
• operetta
• opérette
• felicity
• lott
• beuron
• sénéchal
• naouri
• minkowski

[easlovo]

You probably know this already but the beginning of this number is a direct, hilarious quote from the big trio in Rossini's WILLIAM TELL, and so is "J'expire!" The French audience of the time, of course, would have recognized the quote and laughed heartily.

[thorwickstrom]

michel senachal is my hero.

[tungstino]

What a pleasure is it to have discovered Offbach's operatas on the Youtube, besides his LES CONTES D'HOFFMANN.

[Trulina1]

Excelente puesta de una opereta, formidable

[mouthmouse]

the translation is bad!

[yumyumwhatzohai]

this is Offenbach where talking about, of course you'll hear blatant quotations of his own previous music, he was cool like that. :P

[paneche]

This is the most talent version of La belle Helena I·d ever seen. Grate Laurent Pelly.

[GreekOperaLover]

GREEK WORDS EVERYWHERE

[FoxyGrandpa]

Yeah, you can hear it around 2:17 too. I saw Belle Helene last month in Nantes and thought the very same thing. And funnily enough, one of the tenors in the production was in the same Orphee I own.

[Goethefemme]

I like the way they are doing a grapevine step (very folkie "Greek") at the beginning of the song. I can't imagine anyone from the great days of opera doing this - like Treigle or Milnes. Possibly Cyril Ritchard...

[henrydarthenay]

Comme il faut de la volonté pour résister à tant de conviction!!!!