Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, Manuel Rosenthal - Offenbach - Gaite Parisienne (1999)

Everyone knows Offenbach's famous "Can-can" from the operetta Orpheus in the Underworld, but how many casual listeners have heard it in its original version, as a chorus of demons(!) in Hades? In fact, the version best known is this one, as arranged for the ballet Gaîté Parisienne by the delightful French composer and conductor Manuel Rosenthal. The work has been a staple of the Monte-Carlo ballet for about six decades, and Naxos has assembled the orchestra that knows it best for what amounts to a brand-new, original cast production, led by none other than the 95 years young Rosenthal. The results are as fresh and vivacious as the music itself, and the inclusion of the 1953 Offenbachiana effectively offers a complete survey of the great 19th century operetta composer's most memorable tunes, as seen through the insouciant musical syntax of the generation of Stravinsky and "Les Six". It was Stravinsky, in fact, who fought for Rosenthal's ballet after it was initially rejected, and Stravinsky always knew a good thing when he heard it. What better recommendation could you ask for? -- David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday