"Pelléas et Mélisande" at the Opéra Comique

Actors Group performance

Opéra Comique Celebrates

Paris has three opera houses: one is a famous historic landmark, another is seen often as a much praised or passionately hated work of contemporary architecture, and the third... is more likely to be overlooked with all the attention the other two receive. However, the gorgeously restored Salle Favart of the Opéra Comique is poised to upset this balance. Celebrating its 100th anniversary this season, it also boasts a contemporary vision that is breathing new life into the local opera scene. 

Just mentioning the genre begs the question: what is opéra comique? Its technical definition is actually quite simple: opera that includes spoken dialogue and which developed in France in the early 18th century. Its most famous piece is surely "Carmen" (Bizet) and its greatest classic, for those who know it,  "La Dame Blanche"(Boïeldieu). However, "The Magic Flute" is a close cousin to  opéra comique,being an example of  singspielwhich, according to the dialogue-plus-music definition, is the German equivalent of this French form.

Not so simple is its history. The seeds of  opéra comiquewere sown around 1715, in two Parisian  foires populaires, one each on the Right and Left Banks   where the Gare de l'Est and the Marché St-Germain stand today. With amusements in these fairs ranging from tightrope walking, juggling and acrobatics to marionettes and even animal stunts, some entertainers with a theatrical bent began to perform the well-liked  commedia dell'arterepertoire of the Comédie Italienne, after the latter was banished from Paris in 1697. The actors engaged to the French court, however, enraged that  forains(circus performers basically) were now treading on their territory, had the enterprising thespians slapped with a law forbidding them to both sing and speak dialogue on stage. Ever flexible, they turned to pantomime but eventually brought back the spoken word in opera parodies, which were finally tolerated because of the free publicity these popular shows generated for the real thing.

The Salle Favart, named after Charles-Simon Favart, one of the best known composers of the 18th century, is the third official home of the Opéra Comique after it became a recognized genre with a patron in 1718. Today, it offers not only works from its specific repertoire, but also classic and contemporary operas from around the world. To celebrate its anniversary season, the Opéra Comique commissioned the opera "Clara" from the Swedish composer Hans Gefors, with a libretto written by Jean-Claude Carrière, better known for his screenplays for directors like Louis Malle and Jean-Luc Godard. Opéra Comique director Pierre Médecin has also made a point of grooming new talent (see inset), by recreating a troupe here. This allows young singers both continuous training and the opportunity to perform a wide variety of roles, but is something opera has moved away from with today's international demand for top dollar stars. In addition, partnerships with the Théâtre National Populaire (TNP) and the Péniche-Opéra (quai de Jemmapes) bring theater and classical music as well to this magnificent house. Finally, a choice of season ticket passes helps make it all affordable, especially for students, who get a great deal with the  "Pass Roméo"(5 shows for 250F).

With the Opéra Garnier now home to the Paris ballet and the Opéra Bastille continuing to intimidate many a fan, the Salle Favart of the Opéra Comique offers novices an intimate introduction to opera both new and old, serious and comic. Judging from audience banter at least, local connoisseurs know this is the place to go for the real thing.

 "Don Giovanni,"  Mar 1-9, 7:30pm, (no show Mar 2; Mar 7 at 4pm); "Pelléas et Mélisande" Mar 23, 25, 27, 29, 31, 7:30pm, Opéra Comique, 5, rue Favart, 2e, M? Richelieu Drouot, tel: 01.42.44.45.46, 50-610F.

Chantez français? Presenting Opéra Comique tenor Scott Emerson

"No big deal. Just learn it and do it," says Scott Emerson. Judging from his career so far, the American tenor now in his second season with the Opéra Comique is lucky to have this as his motto. A child actor who decided only nine years ago to become an opera singer, this 30-something LA native has had no trouble adapting to his new career, much less his new country. "It's like a dream come true," he admits, "but I never really dreamt the dream."

After some early training at the Music Academy of the West and the Virginia Opera, Emerson took the plunge to come to Europe in 1994 to learn the art where it was born. Three years at the Opéra de Lyon and a first prize in the  Concours international de chant de Marmandebrought him recognition and an offer at the Opéra Comique. He's never looked back. Not only is French his favorite language to sing in now, but, he explains, in view of his "small voice," Europe is a more amenable environment in which to develop his talents because of the greater popularity of opera here and, consequently, the wider variety of roles. Still, he finds himself frequently cast in parts that suit his voice  the popular hero, the dashing prince or  the young lover  when what he longs to sing once in a while is a "bad guy" like Spoletta in 'Tosca" (he'll have the chance in June).

 Other roles in store for Emerson this season include Ottavio in "Don Giovanni" (Mozart), the husband in   "Les Mamelles de Tiresias"(Poulenc) and Gonzalve in  "L'Heure Espagnole"(Ravel). According to a spokeswoman at the Opéra Comique, Emerson brings to the troupe both professional acting skills and a fine tenor voice: a combination hard to find. In addition, she said, foreign singers tend to work harder on their diction than native French speakers. Emerson acknowledges there is pressure: "Starting out, you're learning so much music! Will you be able to do it? Can I sing it? I'm testing waters all the time." He is not phased though; his very American formula for a successful opera singer: "Eat well. Sleep well. Don't stress!"

Big Apple Dreaming

Americanophile Robert Cordier and the Actors Group begin a new season at the Sudden Theatre this month under the title "New York New York in Paris." The name says Broadway on the Right Bank, and the company means to deliver with a double bill: the French premiere of David Ives' 1994 Off-Broadway hit "All in the Timing" (  "Tout est dans le timing"), translated and directed by Cordier, and a montage of texts from David Mamet, Sam Shepard, Joyce Carol Oates, Xavier Durringer and Cordier in the bilingual "All Men Are Whores" + "Love Triangle." A v.o. production of Mamet's  "Edmond"follows in April.

As his raging passion for American theater suggests, Cordier is no newcomer to it. Early on in his career, a stint at the Actors Studio introduced him to Shepard, whom he in turn introduced to French audiences and has been staging here ever since as this country's unofficial expert. Most recently, he has produced "A Lie of the Mind" and a series of programs on Shepard and the Beat Generation for France Culture. His theater school, Acting International, through which all members of the Actors Group have passed, offers both French- and American-style training in both languages. In fact, many of Cordier's productions are linguistic exercises of  a kind, where the same scenes are played once in French and once in English. The idea is to explore different interpretations through movement and language. Audiences can judge for themselves how well it works in the collage show "All Men Are Whores" + "Love Triangle," featuring the classic Cordier formula: guys, girls and sex, sex, sex. 

 "All Men Are Whores,"   7:30pm; "Tout est dans le timing," 9pm, Tue-Sat, beginning Mar 9, Sudden Theatre, 14 bis, rue Sainte-Isaure, 18e, M? Jules Joffrin, tel: 01.42.62.35.00, 100F/80F.