Just out on the Klarthe label and on Qobuz: Halevy's 1829 opera Le Dilettante d'Avignon. It was his first big success with a libretto by his brother, Leon.
It's a lotta fun.. if you liked Clari you'll love this.
Thanks, Mike. Just nabbed the download from Presto Classical.
Wot, no CD?
Yes, odd isn't it? Amazon.co.uk is download only too, but French retailers have the CD set for sale, I see.
Qobuz includes the accompanying booklet ( livret) for its happy subscribers. Do Amazon & Presto offer the same for downloaders?
Yes they do, but I think the availability of a pdf booklet depends on the recording label, not the download retailer.
The music is great fun, a very jolly, tuneful opéra comique, but be warned: of the 83 minutes, only 56 is music. The rest is French dialogue which is mostly, but not always, separately tracked. The finale is also encored, which takes another 2 minutes or so off the core running time.