La Belle Hélène

La Belle Hélène (2000) Théâtre du Châtelet. Offenbach / French

This is a joy from beginning to end. Although there are many tricks and ideas from Laurent Pelly, as always he seems to still retain the Offenbach magic. La Lott and Monsieur Beuron are a joy, but so is everyone else. The Patriotic Trio by the sea is both a hoot and wonderfully sung, the score seems truly complete yet never flags and the finale sequences for especially acts 1 & 2 are a joy of movement and sound fused as one glorious Offenbachian moment.

Cast

Felicity Lott

Hélène, reine de Sparte

Yann Beuron

Pâris, fils de Priam, roi de Troie

Michel Sénéchal

Ménélas, roi de Sparte

Laurent Naouri

Agamemnon, roi d'Argos

François Le Roux

Calchas, grand augure de Jupiter

Marie-Ange Todorovitch

Oreste, fils d'Agamemnon

Eric Huchet

Achille, roi de Phthiotis

Alain Gabriel

Ajax premier, roi de Salamine

Laurent Alvaro

Ajax deuxième, roi des Locriens

Hjördis Thébault

Bacchis, suivante d'Hélène

Stéphanie d'Oustrac

Léoena, courtisane

Magali Léger

Parthénis, courtisane