The Paris Autumn Festival presented last week the contemporary-baroque opera ‘La Double Coquette’ at the lovely Théâtre des Abesses in Paris. Pizzicato’s Remy Franck attended the least of three power packed performances.
After those highly successful shows in France, Héloïse Gaillard and Violaine Cochard, music directors of the Amarillis Ensemble, announced that they will be touring this production in France (28 January 2016, Arsenal, Metz, 29 January, Théâtre Impérial, Compiègne), in Germany (20 & 21 May, KunstFestSpiele Herrenhausen) and then in the United States for the DockStreet Festival, Charleston, SC, and at the Kasser Theatre of the Montclair State University in Montclair, NJ.
The Paris performances have been enthusiastically applauded by the audience who, a few days after the terror attacks, went without fear to Northern Paris to experience the truly exceptional revision of Antoine Dauvergne’s 1753 opéra comique with additions by French composer Gérard Pesson and a playful new libretto by Pierre Alferi. This combination of old and new is so well done that one sometimes hardly hears the transitions, so big they might be. In fact, this revision is working far better that Pei’s pyramids at the Louvre.
The delicious comedy was brought to life by the terrific Amarillis Ensemble and three singers who deserve highest praise. Sopranos Isabelle Poulenard and Maïlys de Villoutreys as well as tenor Robert Getchell were vocally flawless and their playing was awesome. The visual experience added a lot to the music which sounded much better than in the recording published by Nomadmusic. Maybe the musicians and the singers gained some experience and a certain ease in expressing themselves.
Pizzicato’s two CD reviews are here and here.
