First twentieth-century French operetta I've ever seen. For whatever reason, the French permutation of the form seems more a nineteenth-century thing. But: this exists. And I saw it! Obviously.
Sort of a typical kind of plot: you've got Ciboulette, an orphaned country girl who sells vegetables in the city. Now that she's turning twenty-one, she wants to get married. She has eight suitors, but they're all kind of doofy and obvious no-goes. So instead, there's another dude, Antonin, whose own lover has just left him. What will happen next? Probably hijinx. But also romance. A dude named Duparquet, himself unlucky in love, helps the two get together in the end. Phew!
Who cares if it's a stunningly original plot? It is quite charming, and the music sparkles. I like the fact that both Ciboulette and Antonin are kind of sweetly dopey. They really seem made for each other, and Julien Behr as Antonin has this really strong silent-film-star look to him that really seems to fit the character. The only thing I was slightly dubious about was the opening of the last act, a lengthy comic longeur involving an operatic director and a skirt-role diva who has an entire aria with deliberately-bad singing. I'm HIGHLY dubious of that as on operatic conceit, and this does little to endear it to me.
Nonetheless, it would be difficult to deny the piece's charms. I don't know how you wouldn't like this.
No comments:
Post a Comment