Opera Rara Set to Record Offenbach’s “La Princesse de Trébizonde”

The British record label Opera Rara returns to the works of Jacques Offenbach – for the first time since they released Fantasio in 2014.

The new recording project centers on Offenbach’s La Princesse de Trébizonde, and it’s a collaboration with the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

The 1869 show about a lovesick prince, a lottery ticket, a beautiful young woman who pretends to be a waxwork at a funfair has received a lot of new attention, ever since Adam Benzwi (conductor) abd Max Hopp started a revival in Hildesheim. Since then, other productions have followed. And now: A new modern recording.

Opera Rara states that the show is “fizzy, funny, brimming with melody and topped off with a delicious little spritz of Gallic sexiness”. (Someone at the PR department did a great job here.)

Conductor Paul Daniel will lead an “all-star cast” in the UK premiere of Jean-Christophe Keck’s critical edition. Among the singers are Anne-Catherine Gillet as Zanetta, Virginie Verrez as the cross-dressed Prince Raphael, Josh Lovell as Prince Casimir, Loïc Félix as Sparadrap and Christophe Gay as Cabriolo.

A concert performance is scheduled at the Queen Elizabeth Hall (Southbank Center) in London for Friday, 16 September.

Let’s hope the subsequent recording will be more lively and “theatrically effective” than earlier Opera Rara Offenbach enterprises. The fact that the company is basing their recording on a live recording instead of just a studio session is a promising sign. (For more details on the show, its content and history, click here.)

Of course, no real character performers (or actors) have been hired, comparable to the original cast or to Josefine Gallmeyer in Vienna. She was definitely more than a “pretty soubrette”… and stole the show with her wicked smile and satanical voice.

For more information and tickets, click here.