First performed in Brussels in 1872, La Fille de Madame Angot, a comic opera by Charles Lecocq, enjoyed a triumphant reception for its first performances, and remained in the repertoire of provincial theatres in France for a long time, and also in Germany, where it became very popular. This type of work has encountered two recurrent problems in France, where it was most often entrusted to second-rate singers, who put on routine productions that made use of incomplete, not to say mediocre librettos.
The emergence of the Palazzetto Bru Zane foundation, which has been working on French music of the great 19th century (1780-1920) since 2009, has completely reshuffled the deck, by restoring nobility to a repertoire that has been forgotten or is often treated as a poor relation. New versions are recorded by Bru Zane on the basis of his own editorial work which goes back to the sources, performed by the best opera artists of the day, as has always been the way in German-speaking countries.
This new recording of La Fille de Madame Angot, made in February 2021 in the largest hall in the Seine Musicale in Paris, brings together the best of today's French singers with, in the leading roles, Anne-Catherine Gillet, Véronique Gens, Mathias Vidal, Artavadz Sargsyan and Matthieu Lécroart. The Orchestre de Chambre de Paris, conducted by Sébastien Rouland, is dazzling. The time had come for a release of this comic opera without any cuts and in the best possible conditions, with a clear and superbly defined sound recording. On top of all this auditory pleasure, we can also enjoy reading the critical notes, which are, as ever, serious and well-put-together. © François Hudry/Qobuz