Offenbach: La Grande Duchesse de Gérolstein (complete operetta recorded in 2005)

154 Minutes

Three years after the success of La Belle Hélène Offenbach pursued his fertile collaboration with librettists Meilhac and Halévy: La Grande Duchesse de Gérolstein was premiered at the Théâtre des Variétés in Paris on 12th April 1867. The operetta met with phenomenal success, yet adjustments were made to satisfy public taste and censorship of the time - the production given here goes back to the original version.

Recorded in April 2005 at the Theatre des Variétés, Paris.

Felicity Lott (La Grande Duchesse) / Sandrine Piau (Wanda) / Yann Beuron (Fritz) / Franck Leguérinel (Baron Puck) / Eric Huchet (Prince Paul) / François Le Roux (General Boum) / Boris Grappe (Baron Grog) / Alain Gabriel (Népomuc) / Maryline Fallot (Iza, Demoiselle D'honneur) / Blandine Staskiewicz (Olga, Demoiselle D'honneur) / Jennifer Tani (Charlotte, Demoiselle D'honneur) / Aurélia Legay (Amélie, Demoiselle D'honneur) / Christophe Grapperon (Le Notaire) / Les Musiciens du Louvre-Grenoble
Chœur des Musiciens du Louvre-Grenoble Marc Minkowski

Best Opera Recording went to Offenbach's 'La Grande Duchesse De Gerolstein' in 2005's Diapason d'Or Awards held in Paris.

Sung in French with subtitles in French, Italian, German, English, Spanish, and Catalan.

"Offenbach's 1867 opéra bouffe is here brought back to life in an all-singing, all-dancing staging that bursts with energy from start to finish. Laurent Pelly's production, recorded here at the Châtelet in Paris in December 2004, matches his own costumes in visual verve and an at times macabre wit... The role of the ageing autocrat with a taste for military men seems perfect for Felicity Lott at this stage of her career." BBC Music Five Stars

Features up-and-coming opera singer Sandrine Piau.