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...