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by Jacques Offenbach, directed by Guillermo Silva-Marin

Toronto Operetta Theatre, Jane Mallett Theatre, Toronto

May 2-5, 2013

Chorus: “Tout les étrangers ravis Vers toi s’élancent, Paris!”

If you feel like you need a lift, just enter the tuneful madcap world of Offenbach’s La Vie parisienne.  Toronto Operetta Theatre has not staged this work since 1992 and the Canadian Opera Company has never staged it, so you should not miss the chance to see one of Offenbach’s greatest operettas.  If you know the famous ballet music entitled Gaîté parisienne created by Manuel Rosenthal in 1938 for Léonide Massine, you will already know many of the most famous melodies of La Vie parisienne.  The TOT Orchestra and singers make it a real joy to discover these melodies in their original context and so beautifully sung.

La Vie parisienne (1866) was the first operetta Offenbach wrote set in the Paris of his own time and, as the title suggests, attempts to capture the combination of effervescence and diablerie that make Paris the exciting city it is.  Director and designer Guillermo Silva-Marin has updated the setting from the 1860s to the 1950s and has streamlined the libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy to eliminate the duo’s profusion of subplots and subsidiary characters.  When the operetta premiered in 1866, it had five acts.  When it was revived in 1873, Offenbach removed the fourth act.  That revision left two party scenes back to back – one hosted by the dandy Bobinet in Act 3 and a masquerade ball hosted by the Brazilian millionaire in the new Act 4.  Working from the English translation Geoffrey Dunn did for Sadler’s wells in 1961, Silva-Marin has taken the sensible step of combining the two parties, and the two acts, into one so that now Bobinet hosts the masquerade party that lasts an entire act.  Silva-Marin has also has the brilliant idea of changing Bobinet’s guests from servants dressed as aristocrats to friends of his from the operetta playing aristocrats in masquerade.  All of this results in a version of the operetta where the plot and motivations of the characters are much clearer.

The new plot involves revenge, desire and deceit and very much looks forward to Die Fledermaus (1874), since it features a masked ball where, similarly, no one is really who they appear to be.  In brief, two Parisian dandies, Bobinet (Stefan Fehr) and Raoul de Gardefeu (Adam Fisher) have been rivals for the affections of the demi-mondaine (here a famous actress) Métella (Lauren Segal).  When she snubs them both they vow to be friends and seek company on a higher social plane.  With the arrival of the Baron and Baroness de Gondremarck (Stuart Graham and Elizabeth DeGrazia) from Sweden, Raoul bribes his way to being their tour guide and host.  Since both the Baron and Baroness privately hope to have the kind of flings that Parisians are famous for, Raoul has good reason to suppose his plan of seducing the Baroness will succeed.  What he has not counted on is that Métella is actually in love with him and becomes jealous when she sees Raoul with the Baroness.  A further complication is that a friend of the Baron’s has recommended Métella as the perfect companion for the Baron. 

How will Raoul and Métella finally admit to themselves that they love each other?  How will the Baron and Baroness’s desire for infidelity be revealed?  And will Pompa di Matadores, the Brazilian millionaire (Christopher Mayell), and the pretty glove-maker Gabrielle (Jennifer Ann Sullivan) ever declare their love?  All these questions are sorted out at the masquerade ball, where as in Die Fledermaus, the masks people wear, both literal and figurative, finally fall. 

All this action plays out to a feast of delightful melodies.  Larry Beckwith, best known as a player and conductor with the period performance company Toronto Masque Theatre, shows us why Rossini called Offenbach “the Mozart of the Champs-Élysées” for the ceaseless flow of his melodies.  Beckwith has imaginatively re-orchestrated the score for a six-piece ensemble while preserving the character and texture of the music.  Under his baton the playing is always crisp and lively.

Among the men, Adam Fisher making his TOT debut proved to a fine actor and singer.  He sang with a strong light tenor and effortlessly brought out the comedy of Raoul’s various predicaments.  Stefan Fehr, a baritone-turned-tenor, has a more sinewy voice and proved a well-matched rival as Bobinet to Fisher’s Raoul.  Christopher Mayell arrives in a burst of energy as the manic Brazilian and impressed with his bright tenor and nimble performance of his complex entrance patter song.  Stuart Graham, the sole baritone in a tenor-heavy operetta, seemed to be under the weather and did not the display sparkle we’ve become used to in his previous TOT appearances.

Giving able support to the principals were Gregory Finney as Raoul’s exasperated major domo Alphonse, the spritely Julia Henderson as Pauline who helps entertain the Baron and Keenan Viau, a fine actor and elegant dancer, as Joseph, the tour guide who lets Raoul take over his Swedish visitors.

As usual Guillermo Silva-Marin gives the operetta a spirited, minimalist staging that places the emphasis firmly on the performers.  To embody the theme of tourists from around the world visiting Paris, elements of the set were painted in the colours of the French flag while clusters of international flags decorated the stage.  The usual opening chorus enumerates the cities in France where passengers at the Gare de l’Ouest are coming from.  Instead Silva-Marin accordingly expands the notion and has the chorus list the nationalities of the passengers from around the world who are arriving to experience the pleasures of Paris. 

For an evening of light comedy and joyous music in the City of Light, be sure to join them.

              

©Christopher Hoile

Note: A version of this review will appear in Opera News later this year.

Photo: (top) Cast of La Vie parisienne; (middle) Lauren Segal as Métella.  ©2013 Emily Ding.

For tickets, visit www.stlc.com.