Adam - Le Postillon de Lonjumeau

Opéra Comique, Paris, Monday April 1 2019

Conductor: Sébastien Rouland. Production: Michel Fau. Sets: Emmanuel Charles. Costumes: Christian Lacroix. Lighting: Joël Fabing. Chapelou/Saint-Phar: Michael Spyres. Madeleine/Madame de Latour: Florie Valiquette. Le marquis de Corcy: Franck Leguérinel. Biju/Alcindor: Laurent Kubla. Rose: Michel Fau. Louis XV: Yannis Ezziadi. Bourdon: Julien Clément. Orchestra and chorus of the Opéra de Rouen Normandie. Accentus chorus.

I wasn't sure I really wanted to see Le Postillon de Lonjumeau, but was persuaded to by a sweet old lady living in New York and, ultimately, by the fact that Michael Spyres would be singing the lead. What had put me off for a while was the Opéra Comique's track record in staging cringe-makingly silly, slapstick - and slapdash - productions, as if for imbeciles, of works that deserve better, more intelligent treatment. The right tone is hard to strike, the right degree of knowing complicity with the audience - and sheer fun. This production found it, though it relied heavily on Spires' and Leguérinel's vocal and theatrical talents, and on spectacularly colourful, kaleidoscopic sets and costumes.

There were audible gasps from the audience several times during the evening, whether at Spyres' amiable pyrotechnics or at one dazzling set or curtain after another. The designs were a riot of candy-coloured flowers and writhing vegetation. Pièces montées, wedding-cake style, provided useful platforms for the soloists and chorus, and flat cut-outs stood in for 18th century objects of various kinds: a carriage, a dinner table, a bed with hangings, even an old-fashioned weather-house with Chapelou and Madeleine supplying the male and female figures. The style, heightened with frequently-changing coloured lighting, recalled at once popular images d'Epinal, Grayson Perry and flamboyant hippie-era psychedelics.

Christian Lacroix' costumes mixed brightly-coloured prints with flowered hats for the villagers, and faithfully reproduced baroque stage costumes for the opera troupe and soloists: Saint-Phar, for example, had sumptuous gold brocades, gold wings at his back, gold lace at the knees and a full head of ostrich feathers. Madeleine, now Madame de Latour, and her double, Rose (played,or, more accurately, hammed up in drag by the director) wore identical, fuchsia robes à paniers and extravagantly tall, bejewelled blond wigs. The make-up was exaggerated: lots of rosy cheeks.

Franck Leguérinel's consummate performance as a comic singer-actor, pop-eyed and mustachioed like Groucho Mark, leading the action forward throughout the evening, was outstanding. But it was soon clear that Michael Spyres is also an excellent comedian, and his vocal virtuosity is such that he can afford to play with it almost self-mockingly, throwing in extra Ds (or higher?) with a wink and a grin. This is as well as having extraordinary French diction and a fascinating timbre throughout, especially in the medium and upper medium, darker than you might expect from someone noted for facility at the top. And he seems to sing as easily and fluently as other people just talk. If you forget, as I sometimes do, how it was you came to be interested in voices, Spyres will remind you: his singing is a phenomenon and a treat.

He and Leguérinel together dominated the evening. Florie Valiquette - new to me - and Laurent Kubla were very good, especially in duos or ensembles, but neither had the experience to project the same superabundance of personality into the house. Sébastien Rouland conducted the score as if he really believed in it, with respect, studied phrasing and plenty of rhythmic bounce, giving full due to Adam's craftsmanship. I hope this sparkling production will make it to the web and Blu-Ray so that as wide an audience as possible can see Adam's engaging work in such excellent conditions.