La Belle Hélène

Jacques Offenbach may be thought of as the quintessential French composer, but he was born in Germany, and his operettas remain popular in that country, where they are often performed in translation. Fortunately, this 2014 Hamburg staging of Offenbach's 1864 take on the Helen of Troy story—recast as a satirical look at the moral laxity of his own day—is sung in the original French. Unfortunately, the tempos chosen by conductor Gerrit Priessnitz are a bit sluggish, perhaps in response to the vocal limitations of the singers here, including Jennifer Larmore (as Helen), whose once creamy, secure mezzo has turned wobbly and strained, and Jun-Sang Han, who looks great as Pâris but exhibits a tenor that becomes positively strangulated in the upper register. The large secondary cast is variable, with some singers quite good, while others can hardly manage the patter songs. In fact, the major strength of this production is visual: the ancient tale is presented as a loony re-enactment set on a 1960s cruise ship called the Jupiter, and André Barbe's sets—on the entrance ramp, in an opulent stateroom, and on a deck complete with swimming pool (filled not with water but plastic blue balls)—are opulent and colorful, with costumes to match. The extravagance of the staging compensates in some measure for director Renaud Doucet's frequently juvenile, provincial stabs at humor—Achilles is an Elvis Presley clone in Homeric dress, while Ajax is a football player, and at one point a lookalike for Angela Merkel crosses the stage pushing a wheelbarrow full of deutschmarks. Presented in DTS 5.1 (DTS-HD 5.1 on the Blu-ray release) and PCM stereo, this is a very mixed bag. Optional. (F. Swietek)