French Opera Bouffe: Barbe-bleue

“’Barbe Bleue’ has replaced ‘Le Pont des Soupirs’ at Aimée’s Theater, and has had four representations. ‘La Perichole’ was presented on Saturday at the Matinée, but the career of ‘Barbe Bleue’ has not been interrupted and will not be stayed. The community has been made thoroughly familiar with this operatic farce, within the last four years, and no description of it is needful now. Mlle. Aimée has brought it forward in an unpretending way, with scant scenes and few auxiliaries, depending for success on the exhilarating effect of the numerous gleeful solos and choruses that are scattered through the work, and on her own piquant personation of Boulotte. This pleasant romp she embodies to perfection— barring an unavoidable infusion of what may, perhaps, be best described as the weight of maturity. Her Boulotte is bright, smart, saucy, mischievous, and tantalizing; and the spirit and coloring of the performance preserve an even and judicious medium betwixt inappropriate refinement, on the one hand, and unnecessary coarseness, on the other. She sings too, with great animation, and with a pretty and artless ease. A certain wholesome good humor pervades the whole performance. The musical execution was unusually good. ‘Y a des berger’s danse le village’ was given with notable sweetness, and in a coquettish manner that did not fail to charm. Mlle. Aimée’s Boulotte is certainly the best that our public has seen. M. Coeuilte, acting Blue Beard, made his first appearance at this theater. He is an old hand at the [bellows?], and his voice and demeanor show unmistakable signs of hard service. The former is stiff and frigid; the latter is feeble and worn, and possesses very little flexibility or sympathetic quality. It is what the French themselves call a voix voilée—it sounds as if the singer were singing behind a curtain. M. Coeuilte’s accent indicates that he is of southern origin, probably a native of Toulouse—where so many and such good singers have been recruited for the Parisian stage. His method is rather constrained. His middle notes are satisfactory and not unmusical; but his lower tones sometimes become almost inaudible, and his higher ones often run into falsetto. Altogether, the new tenor cannot be regarded as a very valuable acquisition; and certainly he is not an improvement upon M. Noe, who has personal grace, some dramatic talent, and a fresh voice. Duchesne and Edgard, who are excellent artists in low-comedy—as everybody knows—appeared in this revival, the former as King Bobeche, and the latter as Popolani; and it is needless to say that they largely contributed to its success.”