Chabrier: L'Étoile

Description

With "L'Étoile", Chabrier composed a light-hearted opera which has increasingly enjoyed revivals in recent years. The plot is introduced by King Ouf I who offers his subjects an execution every year on his birthday. Unfortunately the problem now arises that no crime has recently been committed which might serve as a reason for an execution. Finally, he finds a would-be victim in the young Lazuli. However, according to predictions by the astrologer Siroco, Lazuli's fate is closely linked to the king's own life. The comic opera is further bolstered by a story of mistaken identities which involves a great deal of diplomacy, a love story and a large number of refined, yet catchy melodies.

Chabrier was a master of the sensitive and complicated art of musical comedy, a field where he can be compared in equal measure to Offenbach, Rossini and Mozart.