France Offenbach, Robinson Crusoé: Soloists, accentus, Les Musiciens du Louvre / Mark Minkowski (conductor). Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Paris, 14.12.2025. (SRT)
Mark Minkowski and Laurent Pelly know their Offenbach. Through the years they’ve collaborated on a number of of his operettas, so this Robinson Crusoé is simply the most recent in a protracted line, albeit with a plunge into considerably much less acquainted repertoire.
Pelly doesn’t actually do ‘straight’, at the least not in any of his productions that I’ve seen. He’s good at discovering the enjoyable in even essentially the most critical of items, and he likes to deflate sacred cows (are you able to try this to a sacred cow?…) any time he will get the chance, so there was by no means any probability that this Robinson Crusoé would find yourself on an precise desert island. Some parts of Pelly’s iconoclastic take labored very effectively. His trademark visible fashion jogs my memory of a kids’s TV present, with small clusters of set and furnishings huddled collectively in a giant open area, which labored very effectively for the Crusoes’ Bristol house in Act 1. He additionally went full-on slapstick for the cannibals, who work on a manufacturing line turning physique elements into quick meals.
Different parts labored much less effectively, nevertheless. The pinnacle-hunters come on dressed as a tribe of Donald Trumps, for causes that I confess eluded me. The gang cherished it, nevertheless it felt like an affordable snicker to win over the liberal Paris viewers. Moreover, Robinson results in an city tent metropolis fairly than a desert island, one that appears fairly like a migrant camp, although if that was an try to make a political level then it fell flat.
Pelly’s nice power is at directing the characters, nevertheless, which he did to nice impact with the comedian pairing of Suzanne and Toby, who bounded round with limitless vitality, and sang brilliantly, too. Marc Mauillon’s tenor was mild and versatile, as was Emma Fekete’s coloratura. Hers was thrown into all of the extra reduction, as a result of not solely was Julie Fuchs unwell however her understudy was too. Jennifer Courcier needed to be rushed to Paris (and the opening of the present was delayed in order to accommodate the arrival of her prepare) to sing the half from the orchestra pit whereas Fuchs acted on stage. This stuff are at all times unlucky, and so they made the perfect out of a tough scenario, although Courcier’s coloratura was typically tough to listen to because of the lack of steadiness from the pit.
No such complaints about Sahy Ratia within the title position, his mild, vigorous tenor proving each bit as interesting as his jokey stage presence. I learn that this manufacturing was initially conceived with Lawrence Brownlee within the title position, and it could have suited his voice very effectively, however it’s a tribute to how a lot Ratia owned the half that I by no means as soon as regretted Brownlee’s absence. Each bit pretty much as good was Adèle Charvet’s Friday, a wealthy, thrilling mezzo-soprano voice with oodles of stage presence as well. Laurent Naouri barked his manner convincingly by his transient scene as Robinson’s father.
However the musical stars of the night had been Les Musiciens du Louvre who, led with unfailing focus by Minkowski, performed Offenbach’s pretty rating with equal elements oomph and zing, notably within the chuckling sooner sections which Minkowski took at an admirably punchy tempo. Once you hear enjoying like this, you possibly can see why Minkowski and Pelly get on: their playful nature and iconoclastic style are mirror photos of each other.
Simon Thompson
Featured Picture: Laurent Pelly’s manufacturing of Robinson Crusoé © Vincent Pontet
Manufacturing:
Director – Laurent Pelly
Designer – Chantal Thomas
Lighting – Michel Le Borgne
Dramaturgy – Agathe Melinand
Refrain director – Louis Gal
Forged:
Robinson – Sahy Ratia
Edwige – Julie Fuchs (stage)/Jennifer Courcier (singing)
Vendredi – Adèle Charvet
Sir William Crusoé – Laurent Naouri
Toby – Marc Mauillon
Jim Cocks – Rodolphe Briand
Suzanne – Emma Fekete
Deborah – Julie Pasturaud
