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DVD : Chabrier - L'Etoile / Gardiner, Alliot-Lugaz, Gautier, Opera National de LyonIn association with Amazon.comstarring: Colette Alliot-Lugaz, Georges Gautier, Jules Bastin, Ghyslaine Raphanel, François Le Roux directed by: Bernard Maigrot  Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Binding: DVD EAN: 0014381930221 Format: Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC Label: Image Entertainment Manufacturer: Image Entertainment Number Of Items: 1 Publisher: Image Entertainment Region Code: 1 Release Date: June 11, 2002 Running Time: 100 minutes Studio: Image Entertainment Theatrical Release Date: 1986 Sales Rank: 132117 Related Items:
Editorial Review: Description: Set in a mystical fairy tale kingdom, "L'Etoile" is a comedy of lovelorn hopes, terrors and misunderstandings that inevitably unravels a happy ending. This acclaimed Opera de Lyon production is performed by a French cast who relish the farcical mixture of Far Eastern kings, executioners, love and intrigue. The Gilbertian twists in the plot and its parallels with "The Mikado" are very striking, but it has a unique French flavor with a score of melodic freshness and a wicked sense of fun. Amazon.com: The first of Emmanuel Chabrier's five operas is wickedly witty, musically delightful, and, in this bright, well-directed, and superbly conducted performance, utterly charming. The composer is best known for two small orchestral showpieces, the "España Rhapsody" and the "Marche Joyeuse," which are in the repertoire of virtually every orchestra. His operas are less familiar in France and virtually unknown in the United States (though the Glimmerglass Opera has produced L'Etoile). His operas deserve to be as well-known as his orchestral music, and this performance is a long step in the right direction. L'Etoile has a silly, complicated plot that the Opera de Lyon's cast handles with the right light touch--particularly Georges Gautier as Ouf I, ruler of an imaginary kingdom, and Colette Alliot-Lugaz, performing brilliantly in the trouser role of the little peddler Lazuli, who is chosen to be executed in celebration of Ouf's anniversary. --Joe McLellan Average Rating:
 Rating:  - DisappointingThe voices are not recorded live which is very disturbing since the action moves so quickly--no sense of immediate, live performance--but calculated and arranged angles that could not have been done during performance and lip-syncing is not accurate or convincing. The CD version is wonderful and the music survives here but the fact that the singers on the screen are not actually singing what you are hearing destroys the magic of this wonderfully silly opera. Rating:  - Chabrier L'EtoileThis L'Etoile is thoroughly enjoyable after a slow start, and very well sung & acted. If you enjoy Gilbert & Sullivan or Offenbach operettas, I would highly recommend this DVD. Browse for similar items by category:
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