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La Belle Hélène

8.0 124 mins Music   2019
Opéra de Lausanne   Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège   Opéra Comique  
Director(s): Michel Fau

La belle Hélène is the work that confirmed Offenbach's international reputation. The libretto caricatures the conventions of Greek mythology to poke fun at contemporary society, and the melodies, once heard, never leave you. The erotic and political scandal surrounding the creation of this work ensured its immediate and enduring success. We are carried away by music that is always new and inventive, sprinkled with nods to other works: the dream duet between Helen and Paris, the patriotic trio mimicking Rossini's William Tell, the ensemble of "the man with the apple" and the waltz of the "vile seducer"... Not to mention the exquisite humor of the language, whose inventions, such as "plis de vaillance" (folds of valor) and "poux de la reine" (queen's lice), have entered the lexical fund. In this celebration of Offenbach, we constantly swing between laughter and beauty, indulging in the pleasure of all the senses...

Casts of La Belle Hélène

Michel Fau

as Ménélas

Julie Robard-Gendre

as Hélène

Julien Dran

as Pâris

Christophe Lacassagne

as Agamemnon

Pier-Yves Têtu

as Ajax Premier

Hoël Troadec

as Ajax Deuxième

Paul Figuier

as Oreste

Marie Daher

as Bacchis

Laurène Paternò

as Parthoenis

Béatrice Nani

as Loena

Richard Lahady

as Euthyclès

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