Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
 
Offenbach: La Belle Helene -- Paris/Minkowski [DVD] [2000]
 
See larger image 
Share your own customer images

Offenbach: La Belle Helene -- Paris/Minkowski [DVD] [2000]

DVD ~ Felicity Lott
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

Available from these sellers.


1 used from £29.99
Christmas Offers--Up to 70% Off DVD and Blu-ray
Christmas Offers--Up to 70% Off DVD and Blu-ray
Low-priced gift ideas, TV box sets, Blu-ray documentaries and recent drama, action and sci-fi hits. Go easy on your wallet this Christmas. Shop now
Learn about Lovefilm
Amazon's choice for DVD rental.
With a 14 day FREE trial. Learn more

Product details

  • Actors: Felicity Lott, Yann Beuron, Michel Sénéchal, Laurent Naouri, François Le Roux
  • Directors: Ross MacGibbon
  • Writers: Agathe Mélinand, Henri Meilhac, Ludovic Halévy, Robert Didion
  • Producers: Colin Wilson, Jacques Hédouin, Jane Seymour
  • Format: Classical, PAL, Widescreen
  • Language English
  • Subtitles: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish
  • Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Classification: Exempt
  • Studio: Tdk UK Ltd
  • DVD Release Date: 3 Dec 2001
  • Run Time: 127 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B00005QJGE
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 77,576 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)

    Popular in this category:

    #16 in  DVD > Musicals & Classical > Opera > Composers > Mozart

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review

Jacques Offenbach's 19th century parody of life under the yoke of Napoleon III, La Belle Hélène, has always seemed as tongue-in-cheek as the material could go. This new staging from the Théâtre Musical de Paris' 2000 season proves you can always go further. As if the social comment and knowing musical allusions (eg: Wagner's Tannhäuser) weren't enough, now via director Lauren Pelly's imagination Helen (Dame Felicity Lott) becomes a modern sexually frustrated woman dreaming the entire scenario. In her dream she is singled out as the most beautiful woman on Earth (prompting vain delusions to rival Snow White's wicked stepmother) as reward for Pâris (Yann Beuron) choosing Venus as most beautiful Goddess off Earth. Act 1 takes place in the bedroom and bed of Helen and ineffectual husband/king Ménélas (Michel Sénéchal). Here the fusion of costumes worn by High Priest Calchas (François Le Roux) seems incongruous until the archaeological dig setting of Act 2 turns everything into a dream. From then on, the analogy of bed as throne, the sheep costumes and male and female swimsuit parade followed by synchronised stage "swimming" of Act 3 all take on greater significance. Les Musicians du Louvre give a tremendous performance under Marc Minkowski's baton (which you often see popping into frame), particularly in the centrepiece duet between Lott and Beuron for their "Dream of Love". Contemporary makeovers of opera often lose sight of the original's intentions, but this update certainly preserves the spirit of Offenbach's vision.

On the DVD: A choice of Stereo, Dolby 5.1 or DTS is a testament to the careful staging of this production, as is the video's multi-camera edit. In fact, the 25-minute behind-the-scenes documentary reveals the DVD was conceived as part of the staging. Four interviews make this a most welcome supplement, with Dame Lott having the most to say. --Paul Tonks



Special Features

16:9 Wide Screen
Region 2
Linear PCM Stereo
DTS 5.0 Surround
Dolby Digital 5.0 Surround
Behind The Scenes Documentary
English\French\German\Italian\Spanish
See all Reviews

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Jacques Offenbach - La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein / Lott, Les Musiciens du Louvre, Minkowski, Laurent Pelly [Châtelet 2005] [DVD] [2006]

Jacques Offenbach - La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein / Lott, Les Musiciens du Louvre, Minkowski, Laurent Pelly [Châtelet 2005] [DVD] [2006]

DVD ~ Felicity Lott
5.0 out of 5 stars (3)  £12.98
Jacqus Offenbach - La vie parisienne / Sébastien Rouland, Laurent Pelly [Opéra de Lyon 2007] [DVD]

Jacqus Offenbach - La vie parisienne / Sébastien Rouland, Laurent Pelly [Opéra de Lyon 2007] [DVD]

DVD ~ Marie Devellereau
5.0 out of 5 stars (6) 
Offenbach: Orphee aux Enfers -- Lyon National Opera/Minkowski [DVD] [1997]

Offenbach: Orphee aux Enfers -- Lyon National Opera/Minkowski [DVD] [1997]

DVD ~ Natalie Dessay
4.2 out of 5 stars (4) 
Australia [DVD] [2008]

Australia [DVD] [2008]

DVD ~ Nicole Kidman
3.8 out of 5 stars (75)  £4.98
Gaetano Donizetti - La Fille du régiment / Dessay, Florez, Palmer, Corbelli, French, Campanella, Pelly (Royal Opera House 2007) [DVD]

Gaetano Donizetti - La Fille du régiment / Dessay, Florez, Palmer, Corbelli, French, Campanella, Pelly (Royal Opera House 2007) [DVD]

DVD ~ Natalie Dessay
4.9 out of 5 stars (10)  £8.88
› Explore similar items

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
See all 5 tags...

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags
 

Customer Reviews

2 Reviews
5 star:
 (2)
4 star:    (0)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
5.0 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A truly fabulous experiece, 14 Mar 2003
This one of the rare disks in which everything is perfect, or as near perfect as can be. The fact that Helen is supposed to be the most beautiful woman on earth poses something of a challenge to the producers. Felicity Lott is a superb singer and a charismatic actress with a fair share of glamour, but presenting her as the most beautiful woman on earth raises some credibility issues. The producers solved this problem in an elegant manner by presenting the story in Ms Lott's dream. Ms Lott is absolutely perfect as a love-deprived wife of a boorish husband who has already dozed off as Ms Lott enters the bed. The rest of the cast is well-picked too. Yann Beuron as Paris is good, both as a singer and Ms Lott's toyboy. Granted, you can bear better yodelling in Austria, but Beuron has Elvis-like charm that invokes "lust at first sight" in Ms Lott. Michel Sénéchal, being 20 cm shorter than Ms Lott and dressed in a bathrobe, is a perfect choice for Menelaus, Helen's perfectly unexciting husband. The staging is splendidly imaginative in all acts.

There are three sound tracks and subtitles in several languages, including English and French. There is ample amount of laughing from the audience to convey a feeling of presence, but fortunately nobody is coughing their lungs out.

The secret of good comedy is timing, timing and timing, and this is where this performance excels. Instead of alternating play and music, I have the feeling of seeing good theatre and hearing splendid music at the same time. Minkowski does an admirable job in the pit. I don't know how this disk could be improved.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Spectacularly witty!, 27 Nov 2004
By D. Burgess-joyce "Bellini" (England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
What can I say? I'm an opera fan of the highest passion, but nothing could prepare me for the unalloyed joy I've just experienced watching this production. It is faultless. The great Michel Senechal is perfect and Yann Beuron (who I'd never heard of) is utterly superb. This is one of those occasions where you are either smiling uncontrollably or laughing out loud. If you're sad or it's raining outside, put this on and you won't be blue for long. The entire cast look as though they enjoy every minute too.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Look for similar items by subject








i.e., each product must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback

Ad

Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.