Jodie Devos – Offenbach Colorature (2019) [FLAC 24bit/96kHz]

The elegant Jodie Devos puts her talents to work in service of a fairly unknown known side of Offenbach, taking on several somewhat-forgotten pieces which call for very specific voices, known in Offenbach’s day by names such as “chanteuse d’agilité”, “chanteuse à roulade” or “première chanteuse légère”. Of course, everyone knows the tune of the doll Olympia from Tales of Hoffmann, or the telling of the death of Eurydice in Orpheus in the Underworld, but the substantial repertoire of the composer’s smaller pieces (which he generally referred to as “operettas” to distinguish them from his larger works, his famous opéras bouffe) contains a number of virtuoso arias for coloratura soprano. In them, we hear the vocal imitation of the jeu perlé piano technique or of Paganini’s “flying staccato”, in which unstinting bravura hides the real difficulty behind something apparently easy. But the difference from many bel canto composers, who merely show off vocals and melody, is that Offenbach knows how to charge these things with emotion, with textual significance, with personality, and with contrasts: simple mechanics never take precedence over diversity. This record allows us to discover a neat little collection of sadly little-known works which are well overdue a return to the French stage.

Tracklist:
01. Boule de neige, Acte I Scene 2 Couplet de la dompteuse Je suis du pays vermeil
02. Vert-Vert, Acte II Scenes 7B & C Air de la Corilla Les plus beaux vers sont toujours fades
03. Orphee aux Enfers Invocation a la mort La mort m’apparait souriante
04. Un mari a la porte Valse tyrolienne de Rosita J’entends ma belle
05. Fantasio Air d’Elsbeth Cachons l’ennui de mon ame
06. Les Bavards, Acte I Scene 3 Air d’Ines Ce sont detranges personnages
07. Mesdames de la halle Rondo de Ciboulette Quel bruit et quel tapage
08. Le Roi Carotte Romance des Fleurs Le voila c’est bien lui
09. Les bergers Ouverture
10. Fantasio Romance d’Elsbeth Voila toute la ville en fete
11. Les Contes d’Hoffmann Couplets de la poupee Les oiseaux dans la charmille
12. Robinson Crusoe, Acte II, 2eme tableau, Scene 14C Valse d’Edwige Conduisez-moi vers celui que j’adore
13. Boule de Neige, Acte I Scene 3 Romance des souvenirs d’Olga Souvenance
14. Boule de Neige, Acte II Scene 14 Chanson d’Olga Allons, couchez
15. Les Contes d’Hoffmann Prelude & Barcarolle Belle nuit, O nuit d’amour
16. Le voyage dans la lune, Acte III Scene 21 Ariette de Fantasia Je suis nerveuse