Search - Ambroise Thomas, Andrew Litton, Philharmonia Orchestra of London :: Ambroise Thomas: La Cour de Célimène

God Bless Opera-Rara!

Brett Farrell | Cape May, NJ USA | 09/18/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Here we have another rare treat that I thought I would never see... The Ambroise Thomas library expanding! I have long been a fan of Mignon and play it regularly. Hamlet also recieves extensive play time (not as much as Mignon however) but I never thought I would see the day that any other Thomas Opera or Opera-comique would be recorded. The fact La Cour de Celimene was recorded might just be a fluke so I dare not get my hopes up.

La Cour de Celimene is fantastic! It is one of the last of the original type of opera-comiques...bourgeoisie comedy 100%! The story is of a wealthy aristocrat who has men lining up to court her. She merely plays them along for fun. She has actually resigned herself to a wealthy colonel who does not care about her promiscuous lifestly because he is happy to live in a house with 2 beautiful women (Celimene and her sister).

Celimene than plays with the affections of a lowly page and stirs up trouble that in the end all works out but not as you would think.

The music is lovely. It's sprightly and very very french. Boildieu's influence is evident. The first disc's music is charming and very good but the second disc is where things really take off and the opera becomes addicting. Thanks to the later half of this opera you will be listening to it quite often.

As always I am very greatful to opera-rara for recording another forgotten treasure. Companies like Opera-Rara, CPO, Musidisc(now defunct), Hyperion, Capriccio, and others have been making rarities available for years now and always of the highest quality. This is just one more gem that was long ago cut but is finally being cleaned and recognised. The sound quality and preformances are of the best kind and make this album even easier to appreciate."