Reynaldo Hahn. Ô mon bel inconnu

CD-Book. Bru Zane Label. French Opera Collection n. 27.

The hatter Prosper Aubertin dreams of extramarital affairs. But, among the replies to the classified ad he puts in the newspaper, he discovers propositions written by his wife, his daughter and his maid Félicie. ‘This tragedy might have been called “Know thyself”, and might have ended very badly. Just as I was about to write it in alexandrine verse and offer it to the Comédie-Française, I reflected for ten minutes... and I turned it into a comedy’, joked the author of the book and lyrics, the great wit Sacha Guitry. This was his second collaboration with Hahn, then basking in well-deserved fame after the success of Ciboulette (1923). Le Ménestrel enthused over music that shows ‘incomparable distinction and tact, and at the same time a verve that does not preclude emotion’. ‘What [else] do you need to be happy?’ as the maid sings in Act Three? The first run benefited from a dream cast, given added spice by Arletty in the role of Félicie.

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