The production also features a well-matched cast of singing actors who throw themselves into the spirit of the work with gusto. As the two young lovers of the flighty Métella, Jean-Sebastien Bou and Marc Callahan look, act and sing their roles with just the right serio-comic flair, while veteran baritone Laurent Naouri as the Swede displays a gift for farce unsuspected in his Baroque opera successes. Tenor Jean-Paul Fouchécourt stands out with his hilarious turn as the horny boot maker and faux admiral, and his Act One duet with Marie Devellereau as the pretty glove-maker Gabrielle is a highlight. Devellereau’s character also masquerades as other characters too, and she’s faultless in those as well, while singing with panache and bright-voiced flair. The same can be said of Michelle Canniccioni as the Swedish baroness and Maria Riccarda Wesseling as the elusive Métella. Offenbach’s bouncy music is nothing without bubbles galore and conductor Sébastien Rouland keeps the score moving with the appropriate champagne fizz. Video director Francois Roussillon keeps us riveted on exactly the singers and parts of the stage action where we need to be, helping to make this as intoxicating a video experience as, judging by the audience laughter, it was in the theatre. --Dan Davis

La vie parisienne is an all-regions disc in 16:9 ratio. Sound options include PCM Stereo,Dolby 5.0 Surround and DTS 5.0 Surround. Sung in French, subtitles include English, French, German, Italian and Spanish.