Now there
is a great snack available for friends of operetta, when the finishing class of
opera students in Sibelius Academy perform tunes of Jacques Offenbach in the Helsinki Music Centre’s Sonore stage. The evening consists of songs from different works
of Offenbach: Beautiful Hélène, Orpheus in the Underworld, the Tales of
Hoffmann, Parisian Life, La Périchole).
The set
design (Markku Nenonen) already was made in the spirit of operetta with its red
couch and chandeliers. The costume design (Elina Kolehmainen) followed the same
theme and when the musicians of Helsinki Sinfonietta were playing at one end of
the stage in a bit perkier suits than usually, the full operatic experience was
guaranteed.
The mix of
Offenbach tunes was good and it almost offered a story line, too. The singers threw
themselves in the somewhat absurd stories; some better than others, of course. Once again Minna-Leena Lahti (Eurydice, Minerva) was
my favourite. She embraced
the light, humorous expression of an operetta and when her voice was also good,
the result was charming. The beautiful,
strong voice of Réka Bata (Diane, Helena) did also justice to Offenbach tunes. I also liked very much the
performance of Henri Tikkanen (John Styx, Pluto).
But in
addition to solo performances, I have to say that the finishing class also
worked beautifully as a group. When in the end Rachel McIntosh first did a hilarious
performance of the aria ”Je suis un peu grise” from “La Périchole” and it was
followed by a joint racy performance of probably the best known tune of
Offenbach – the cancan – it was a great peak. Well planned “soirèe” and an excellent
end to the evening. FYI, any friends of operetta, there are still two
performances left (on Friday the 11th and Saturday the 12th of October) and
tickets are available at www.ticketmaster.fi.
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