Jodie Devos (soprano)
Bijoux Perdus
Flemish Radio Choir
Brussels Philharmonic/Pierre Bleuse
rec. 2022, Studio 4, Flagey, Brussels
ALPHA CLASSICS 877 [65]
Since her award-winning achievements in the 2014 Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels, soprano Jodie Devos has released her own albums and contributed to several recordings. Standing out is her solo album Offenbach Colorature a memorable collection of coloratura arias on Alpha Classics that I reviewed in 2019, marking the two hundredth anniversary of Offenbach’s birth.
On this new album, Bijoux Perdus, Devos has fashioned a collection of airs in honour of her celebrated Brussels born compatriot Marie Cabel (1827-1885) who, like herself, was a coloratura soprano. Making her Paris debut in 1848 at the Opéra Comique, Cabel shot to fame aged twenty-six in 1853 at the Théâtre-Lyrique, creating the role of Toinon in Adolphe Adam’s Le bijou perdu. The airs that Devos has selected are from nine French opéra comiques roles that Cabel performed, spanning a twenty-three-year period including three she created, namely Toinon in Le bijou perdu (Adam), Dinorah in Le pardon de Ploërmel (Meyerbeer) and Philine in Mignon (Thomas) all examples of Romantic operas strewn with coloratura.
With a string of roles to her name Devos has sung a number of staples of the operatic repertoire: Die Zauberflöte, Le nozze di Figaro, Il barbiere di Siviglia, La fille du regiment and Die Fledermaus. She has also has become a sought-after singer of French language operas which features strongly in her repertoire, such as Guillaume Tell, Cendrillon, Les contes d'Hoffmann, Lakmé, Pelléas et Mélisande et al.
Devos’ chosen airs are by five French composers: Massé, Thomas, Halévy, Adam and Auber, and the German-born composer Meyerbeer. All nine operas were premiered by the Opéra-Comique company, Paris with the exception of Jaguarita l'Indienne and Le bijou perdu which received their premières at the Théâtre-Lyrique, Paris.
Palazzetto Bru Zane have worked with Devos to select airs from opéra comiques that have fallen into neglect. Even Adam’s Le bijou perdu and Halévy’s Jaguarita l’Indienne, which were significantly successful operas in their day, are probably names unfamiliar to the majority of opera lovers. I certainly relish the opportunity of encountering such neglected, high-quality airs; the only one I have previously heard is Meyerbeer’s ‘Shadow Song’.
This repertoire from suits Devos’ compact voice down to the ground, permitting her to display her talents to best advantage. With convincing technical facility and adept artistry, Devos is able to engage and frequently captivate the listener. Her performance in a high tessitura and fluently realised coloratura are very convincing.
Justly regarded as one of the greatest coloratura showpieces, the best-known work here is the Air de Dinorah – Ombre légère known as the ‘Shadow Song’ from Meyerbeer’s Le pardon de Ploërmel (1859). In a forest at night heroine Dinorah, caught in shaft of moonlight, sings and dances with her own shadow. Savouring the florid air with its entrancing waltz rhythms, Devos gives a gratifying display of this challenging coloratura jewel.
Also standing out is the Air de Toinon taken from Adolphe Adam’s Le bijou perdu (1853) from which the album takes its name. Described as a ‘melancholic romance’ this air is an outstanding example of Davos presenting her vocal range of clarion qualities: notably tender expression, adroitly executed coloratura and confidently achieved high notes.
Another highlight is the earliest air on the album, the Air de Carlo in which Devos sings the trouser role from Auber’s successful La part du diable (1843). Auber based his opéra comique on an episode in the life of Carlo Broschi, the renowned Italian castrato better known as Farinelli.
Pierre Bleuse conducts the Brussels Philharmonic, who provide a performance rich in character, vitality and orchestral colour. Deserving of praise, too, is the contribution of the Flemish Radio Choir sounding impressively prepared and unified.
The recording is first class, providing satisfying balances among the soloist, chorus and orchestra. It is pleasing that sung French texts with English translations are provided in the booklet. The musicologist Alexandre Dratwicki has written the essay titled Le bijou perdu – In the footsteps of Marie Cabel; it is a worthwhile read. As these coloratura airs are from rarely performed, a description of each air in its context would have been invaluable.
With the exception of the famous Air de Dinorah, Devos avoids the old warhorses of the repertoire and provides first-class performances which both captivate and breathe new life into these rarely encountered airs.
Michael Cookson
Contents
Victor Massé (1822-1884)
Galathée (1852, Opéra-Comique, Paris)
01. Act 1: ‘Air de le Lyre’ – Que dis-tu? (Galathée) [8:16]
Giacomo Meyerbeer (1791-1864)
Le pardon de Ploërmel (1859, Opéra-Comique, Paris)
02. Act II, Scene 3: ‘Air de Dinorah’ – Ombre légère [8:35]
Ambroise Thomas (1811-1896)
Le songe d'une nuit d'été (1850, Opéra-Comique, Paris)
03. Act I: ‘Cavatine d'Élisabeth’ – Élisabeth Le voir ainsi [4:40]
Fromental Halévy (1799-1862)
Jaguarita l'Indienne (1855, Théâtre-Lyrique, Paris,)
‘Air de Jaguarita’
04. Act 2, Scene 6: ‘Air et chant de guerre’ – À moi, ma cohorte guerrière (Jaguarita, Chœur) [5:27]
05. Act 2, Scene 6: Approchons, approchons (Jaguarita, Chœur) [3:48]
06. Act 2, Scene 6: Et maintenant filles des bois (Jaguarita, Chœur) [2:14]
Adolphe Adam (1803-1856)
Le bijou perdu (1853, Théâtre Lyrique, Paris)
07. Act 3: ‘Air de Toinon’ – Pour rester en cette demeure (Toinon) [3:37]
Daniel-François-Esprit Auber (1782-1871)
Manon Lescaut (1856, Opéra-Comique, Paris)
08. Act 2: ‘Air de Manon’ – Plus de rêve qui m'enivre (Manon) [8:04]
La part du diable (1843, Opéra-Comique, Paris)
09. Act 1: ‘Air de Carlo’ – Le singulier récit qu’ici je viens d’entendre! (Carlo) [5:15]
Giacomo Meyerbeer
L'étoile du nord (1854, Opéra-Comique, Paris)
10. Act I: ‘Prière de Catherine’ – Veille sur eux toujours (Catherine) [2:14]
11. Act I: ‘Barcarolle pour Catherine et chorus’ – Allons donc, plus de tristesse [2:35]
Ambroise Thomas
Le songe d'une nuit d'été (1850, Opéra-Comique, Paris)
12. Act III: ‘Air d'Élisabeth’ – C’est un rêve qui s’achève à l’instant (Élisabeth) [3:39]
Mignon (1866, Opéra-Comique, Paris)
13. Act II: ‘Récitatif et Polonaise de Philine’ – Oui, pour ce soir je suis reine des fées! (Philine) [6:01]
* In the mid-nineteenth century Paris had four opera companies: the Opéra-Comique, the Théâtre-Lyrique, the Théâtre-Italien and the most prestigious of them all L'Opéra (the Paris Opéra).
Published:
November 11, 2022
