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Alpha Classics4.5
Rebelle: Hommage à Célestine Galli-Marié
Eva Zaïcik, mezzo-soprano; Orchestre national de Lille, Pierre Dumoussaud, conductor; Ferdinand Poise, Ambroise Thomas, Georges Bizet, Louis Deffès, Jacques Offenbach, Victor Massé, Ernest Guiraud, Émile Paladilhe, Jules Massenet, Albert Grisar, Jules Cohen, composers
Alpha Classics, 2025
In this year of the 150th anniversary of the creation of Bizet’s Carmen, Palazzetto Bru Zane, the originator of so many fine rediscovery projects, has had the excellent idea of focusing on the role’s creator, Célestine Galli-Marié, via a rising mezzo-soprano of today, Eva Zaïcik. An excellent idea, because this legendary performer left her mark not only on opera’s best-known heroine, but also on several other important roles, starting with Ambroise Thomas’s Mignon, much-performed until the mid-20th-century. She also took part in two of Jacques Offenbach’s attempts to break into more serious works, originating the role of Vendredi (Friday) in Robinson Crusoë (1867) and the title role in Fantasio (1872).
The recording reserves almost half of its duration for these titles, but the rest is just as fascinating. It allows us to discover half a dozen unknown or forgotten composers born between 1808 and 1844—contemporaries of Bizet, Berlioz, Gounod and Massenet. They logically share many stylistic characteristics and ways of treating the voice and orchestra, all having learned their art at the Paris Conservatoire. Listening to them today, after decades of oblivion, one can only marvel at these buried treasures of 19th-century French music.
You can have fun discovering these composers in descending order of obscurity. In this case, many would certainly start with Jules Cohen, writer of several works for the stage whose music, though pleasant, is probably being heard here for the first time. Other comic opera arias by Albert Grisar, Louis Deffès and Ferdinand Poise are also charming, tasty and even inspired. The most captivating pieces are those by Ernest Guiraud, a great friend of Bizet, who composed recitatives for Carmen as well as an orchestral suite. The cavatina from his opera Piccolino makes you want to hear more. Similarly, the “Mandoline de Zanetto” from Émile Paladilhe’s Le Passant captures our attention with its fine orchestration and haunting melody.
It’s Eva Zaïcik’s turn to step into Galli-Marié’s shoes. Does she really have a voice comparable to that of her predecessor, whose intense drama has always been praised and who was not afraid of hoarse, almost screaming tones? On the contrary, the young French mezzo is distinguished by a timbre that is creamy throughout, though perhaps a little uniform. But there’s nothing to complain about; so great is her musicality and elegance that it makes you want to listen to these rare scores again and again.
Translation: Gianmarco Segato
This page is also available in / Cette page est également disponible en:
Français (French)
