Offenbach: Les Contes d'Hoffmann.(Sound Recording Review)

* Doria, Boue, Bovy, Revoil, Jobin, Amade, Bourdin, Cambon, Pernet, Musy Soix, Bourvil; Orchestra and Chorus of the Opera-Comique, Cluytens. No texts. Naxos 8.110214-15 (2)

What a treat to have this authentic Comique version of Hoffmann available on CD! Originally recorded in 1948, and released by French Columbia on thirty-two 78rpm sides, it has been transferred to CD by Ward Marston with his customary skill: the voices are very present and clear, surface noise is minimal, and there is very little overload. But the greatest pleasure of this release is the opportunity to hear an all-Francophone cast of principals in Offenbach's masterpiece, performing in an idiom that is in their bones. The text is presented with an ease of delivery and style that is rare today, and the voices are surprisingly impressive, especially considering the sub-par reputation of French singing in that era. The performing edition is the familiar one, known to Met audiences for years, with the customary arrangement of scenes, placing the Antonia act last.

The star of the recording, Quebec-born tenor Raoul Jobin (1906-74), is, or rather was, also familiar to Met operagoers. After his 1940 debut there, as des Grieux to Grace Moore's Manon, Jobin sang 110 performances in the house and another forty on tour, specializing in French roles (Hoffmann, Faust, Gerald in Lakme, Romeo, Don Jose) with the occasional excursion into Pagliacci or Tosca. The voice is bright and fluent throughout most of the range, with the occasional forced open high note, which doubtless created more excitement in the theater than it does on disc. Jobin is effective in all of Hoffmann's adventures, but particularly so in the Venice act and in the Epilogue, as both of these scenes provide him with the opportunity for full-throated, emotional outpouring. It is a very exciting performance.

Each of Jobin's leading ladies is interesting in her own way. Olympia is sung by the remarkable Renee Doria, and although the role offers her none of the interpretive opportunities for which she later became known, it does display her virtuosity as a coloratura of mechanical perfection. Her intonation is dead center, her staccatos are brilliant, trills articulated cleanly, and the climactic high E-flat in "Les oiseaux dans la charmille" dazzling. One only wishes that the vogue at that time had been for more embellishments, a la Ruth Welting or Natalie Dessay, ...