The Opéra Comique is more than ever in its role by resuscitating Zémire and Azor by Grétry, comedy-ballet of 1771. A little-known era, missing link between Baroque and classicism, not without already pre-Romantic accents: Mozart is 15 years old. It is above all a declaration of love for the French language, and that is what we will retain as a priority from this delicious premiere. Here we are this time at the heart of the artistic project of Louis Langrée, director of the Salle Favart, who has set himself the task of exploring the roots of the art of singing our language. Because Zémire et Azor, which is nothing other than the very moral and edifying story of Beauty and the Beast, is also a versified libretto by Marmontel, where the singers must constantly move from spoken to sung without we feel a rupture.
The work done with the cast is exemplary from this point of view, and one can only see the mark of the perfectionism of Louis Langrée, his assistant Théotime Langlois de Swarte (a child of William Christie!) and the conductor singing, Benoît Hartoin. As for the management of Langrée, it not only emphasizes the finesse and elegance of the musical writing, but it constantly preserves the subtle balance between song and declamation while bringing this theater to life in music.
The orchestra resulting from the merger between Les Ambassadeurs and La Grande Écurie could tighten the bolts of precision, but its sounds are a showcase for the set.
The cast conceals nuggets, starting with Julie Roset, already noticed at the beginning of the month at the basilica of Saint-Denis in a very beautiful version of La Création de Haydn by Julien Chauvin. In the role of Zémire, the young 26-year-old French soprano catches the light with her singing as natural as it is intelligent, light in the treble, fleshy in the medium, with an agile vocalization and a luminous legato. Technology at the service of expression: the future belongs to it. Even made up, we would recognize Marc Mauillon by his singular timbre, except that the voice has gained in breadth and depth, without losing its striking diction of singer-actor, ideal for the role of the father. He is flanked by a quicksilver Sahy Ratia, irresistible as a comedy valet. We will be more reserved about Philippe Talbot’s performance: is it the (magnificent) costume of the Beast designed by Hubert Barrère or the range of this high-counter role that makes him uncomfortable? he is not at his best, to the point of needing the prompter at the end of the performance.
To resuscitate this play whose poetry oscillates between nostalgia and lightness, Michel Fau bets on the naive magic of the fairy tale and an Orient seen through the glasses of France during the Enlightenment, more than on a conventional direction of actors. Even his own appearance as a fairy dressed in black is surprisingly sober, as if he hadn’t wanted to upset the general balance of this charming spectacle.
Opéra Comique until July 1st. www.opera-comique.com/fr
