Associate Director Agathe Mélinand
Set designs Chantal Thomas
Costume designs Laurent Pelly
Choreography Laura Scozzi
Lighting Joël Adam
Dialogue adaptation Agathe Mélinand
After La Grande Duchesse de Gérolstein, and La Fille du régiment, Virgin Classics develops its DVD catalogue with yet a new stage production by renowned director Laurent Pelly (his 3rd for the label) accompanied by his assistant Agathe Mélinand who again adapted the dialogues as in the other productions. Filmed in Lyons during the performances (18th December – 1st January 2008) the production and the cast re-enacted in our moderns times the satirical portrayal of Parisian life in the Second Empire.
The performances were a hit: Laurent Pelly brought to Offenbach’s operetta all the gusto and humour the subject calls for – his staging is wild and frenzied. La Vie parisienne was Offenbach's first full-length piece to portray contemporary Parisian life, unlike his earlier period pieces and mythological subjects. It became one of Offenbach's most popular operettas.
The production brings together on stage a rich cast of singers - of which Laurent Naouri, Natalie Dessay’s husband - from the US, France, Italy and under Sébastien Rouland’s lively baton.
“A popular hit …. Previously overexposed in France, Pelly’s successes abroad have given us a breathing space. It is good to see him back and on such sparkling form. Aided and abetted by his usual high-octane team, Agathe Mélinand for the adapted dialogue and Chantal Thomas for the wonderful sets, Pelly convincingly updates this satire on hedonistic Second Empire morals to the present day.” Financial Times
Artists
Marc Callahan (Bobinet), Jean-Sébastien Bou (Raoul de Gardefeu), Maria Riccarda Wesseling (Métella), Laurent Naouri (Le Baron de Gondremarck), Michelle Canniccioni (La Baronne de Gondremarck), Marie Devellereau (Gabrielle), Jean-Paul Fouchécourt (Frick), Jesus Garcia (Le Brésilien)
Chœurs et Orchestre de l'Opéra de Lyon, Sébastien Rouland (conductor) & Laurent Pelly (stage director)
