Saturday evening April 12, at 7:30 pm, my wife and I attended the final performance of Jacques Offenbach’s comic operetta La Vie Parisienne presented by The Northeastern Illinois University Department of Music. The cast in order of appearance were Christopher Zeglin (Bobinet), Patricia Mehler (Madame Karadec), Philip Platakis (Lead Waiter), Fred Sivils (Train Employee), Nicholas Brubaker (Gardefeu), Alaina Carlson (Metella), Robert Heitzinger (Gontran), David Mitchell (Joseph), Erica Sauder (Swedish Baroness), Brennan Roach (Barton Gandermack), and Wellington Da Silva (Brazilian Millionaire).
The opening scene depicts a typical Paris street café near a train station where tourist congregate. Café workers scurry back and forth setting their tables for perspective customers. Mr. Bobinet excorts his rich aunt to the train station and before she leaves, he is given strict instructions not to have parties in her mansion. At the café, Mr. Bobinet runs into his best friend Mr. Gardefeu and they have brief argument over a women who they both were in love with. Afterwards, Mr. Gardefeu declares that from now on, he will only pursue women of wealth and influence to marry so that he will be well taken care of.
Mr. Gardefeu meets his former valet Joseph who informs him he is now a tour guide and that he will be escorting a wealthy Baroness and her wayward American husband around Paris. Mr. Gardefeu immediately decides to persude Joseph to let him play the role of tour guide so that he can seduce the Baroness. In the last moments of scene 2 all conflicts are resolved. Lovers are reunited and quarrels are set aside as they all sing “Life is short, spend time with you love. Seize the day, don’t let it slip away. Do the best, near, far, east and west. Live without regret, that’s “La Vie Parisenne”. The plot takes a lot of twists and turns and I think the content is suitable for a young viewing audience.
The arias, duets, and choruses were quite lyrical and also silly which caught my interest, I was also pleased with the great dance routine. The fine arts theater at Northeastern University is very impressive. It has slanted seating that offers comfortable views from many angles. Also the stage is wide and deep enough to give adequate depth. The stage props reflected visions of Paris during the 1920’s. The costumes worn, especially by the women were highly elegant displaying the high class fashions of that period in history.
mus115: opera 