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Offenbach: La Belle Helene / Priessnitz, Larmore, Han, Galliard, Rud

Offenbach / Larmore / Philharmoniker Hamburg Release Date: 07/31/2015
Label: C Major Catalog #: 730908
Composer:  Jacques Offenbach Performer:  Viktor Rud ,  Jun-sang Han ,  Jennifer Larmore ,  Peter Galliard  ...  Conductor:  Gerrit Priessnitz Orchestra/Ensemble:  Hamburg Philharmonic Orchestra Number of Discs: 1

Also available on Blu-ray

Jacques Offenbach’s La Belle Hélène (1864) has always been one of its composer’s most successful works.

• Its first, slightly scandalizing performance in Paris was quickly followed by productions in Vienna, Berlin, London, Milan and New York.

• A satire of middle-class values, this opéra bouffe – told through the story of Paris and Helen, and her abduction by the Trojan prince disguised as a shepherd – pillories narrow-mindedness in society.

• Adopting a pro-active stance, director Renaud Doucet and designer André Barbe treat the piece as a “great show” with numerous Read more choreographic elements, relocating the action of Offenbach's classical spoof and setting it on a cruise ship in the 1960s, when Flower Power, love and drugs were all the rage.

• “La Belle Hélène is a firework display for ears and eyes...” (Hamburger Morgenpost), “opulent and amusing” (Bild), and, in the title role, Jennifer Larmore convinces with her “fantastic vocal performance.” (Das Opernglas)

Subtitles: French (orig.), English, German, Spanish, Chinese Korean
Booklet: English, German, French
No. of Discs: 1
Run time: 117 minutes
Picture Format: NTSC, 16:9
Audio Format: PCM Stereo, PCM 5.1
Region Code: 0 (worldwide)
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