Search - Jacques Ibert, Yoram David, Gaëlle Mechaly :: Ibert: Angélique / David

Excellent music and performances; a pity there's so little o

G.D. | Norway | 09/04/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Ibert's earliyish one-act comic opera might come across as rather politically incorrect to modern listeners but the storyline is a well-known one - a desperate husband putting his none-too-sympathetic wife up for sale, only to have her rejected by a variety of potential buyers, including the devil himself. The music is genuinely delightful and inventive, however, and the performances here are extremely good, with a superb Gaëlle Méchaly in the main role leading an accomplished cast of singers and backed by very good orchestral and choral performances directed with skillful hands by Yoram David. The snag is this: there's a lot of spoken dialogue, in French and without translations provided in the booklet, which is a little tiresome to someone whose French is as poor as mine. In fact, the music adds up to a meager total of ten minutes or so, and despite it's elegance and level of invention that might just not be enough to convince anyone that the outlay is worthwhile. Nonetheless, as long as you know what you'll get with respect to this fact but still feel ready to proceed, you won't be disappointed."