Operettas

One could scoff, of course... One of the masterpieces of Offenbach's opéra bouffe, recorded... in English? But that would be to forget that almost no recordings of the work exist, and that in the year following the début of his 1869 work L’Ile de Tulipatan, it was performed in German in Berlin and Vienna, and two years later in England (under the title Kissi-Kissi... Don't ask why). In other words, it would be a rather poor show to mock the release of The Island of Tulipatan sung in English, by the Light Opera of New York. One might also note that, played and sung in this way (and spoken, as the dialogues are also performed in English), we are getting a devilishly good idea of what you might have seen on stage in London, Manchester or Melbourne in the 1870s, with a rather modestly-sized orchestra of rather modest quality, "normal" singers (i.e. no Wagnerians), but all gifted with an infectious enthusiasm. But in any case, they've gone and done it, and we are still waiting for a French company of similar standing to allow us to enjoy the hilarious adventures of Cacatois XXII, Octogène Romboïdal and their transgendered offspring. So there! © Qobuz