For me this set is the least satisfying
of Accord’s Opérette series (see review
link page) for it tries
to provide a glimpse through extracts of four shows each
originally
confined
to
one LP side. The fact that dialogue is included means that
the amount of music is precious little. As with one of the
other Opérette recordings with abundant dialogue, it makes
me wonder whether this collection originated as a radio programme,
where their stories – though always slight - need to be conveyed
to the listeners.
Scotto was of Neapolitan descent and initially
- and later - lived in Marseille, where he provided a series
of operetta-revues at the Varieties theatre. They are more
revue than operetta in style, with books by an associate,
Henri Alibert. His early interest in music was self-developed
through playing the guitar. He never learnt to read music
and his four thousand songs and sixty operettas were all
accomplished through collaborations with those who could
transcribe his ideas. His breakthrough came when the singer
Polin took his song La Petite Tokinoise to national
popularity. Later his songs were sung by Chevalier, Piaf,
Josephine Baker and Toni Rossi. He moved to Paris in 1895
where he rapidly became one of the leading music-hall writers
of the day. His early hit Ah! si vous voulez de l'amour sealed his
position. Scotto returned
to Marseille in 1931 beginning an era where the operettas
excerpted here were heard. He also wrote music for some 200
films. In the 1940s he went through a stage of producing
serious operas such as Violettes
Impériales (1948).
The present series of shows was written
for his birthplace Marseille and later transferred to Paris. Au
Pays du Soleil (The Country of the Sun) was
the first show to be staged. Others followed as a result
of initial acclaim. The success of this Mediterranean music
when brought to Paris inculcated an interest in the colour
of other countries' music, notably Spain. Similar material
by Francis Lopez (1916-1995) built on this heyday. Lopez
picked up the rich tapestry of colour provided by Spanish
and Mexican themes and was responsible for a post-war expansion
of the genre when La Belle de Cadix (1945) opened
at the Casino-Montparnasse. Operettas by Lopez also appear
in this series: Andalousie (excerpts) (1947) and Méditerranée (excerpts)
(1955) on Accord 476 9989.
The singers used to present these excerpts
are confined to two principals - the same for each of the
four operettas - plus choir, with a few minor singers occasionally
making their contribution. Of these principals, I find Ervil's
soprano quality extremely satisfying, with elegant vibrato
and smoothly delivered held notes. One can see her bedecked
in iridescent robes radiating a powerful presence. Denain,
her partner, is not as charismatic and in comparison has
a harsh and forced edge to the timbre of his voice. This
may be satisfactory for the non-exacting genre of 'musical',
but can wear thin over repeated CD listening sessions.
The notes as with other items in the Accord
Opérette series are written in French only.
Raymond
J Walker
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Janine
Ervil (soprano): Miette/Rosette/Marguette/Francine; Pierre
Denain (tenor): Titin/Antonin/Remy/Toinet 
