OFFENBACH: “LA BELLE HELENE.” Jessye Norman, Colette...

OFFENBACH: “LA BELLE HELENE.” Jessye Norman, Colette Alliot-Lugaz, John Aler, Charles Burles, Gabriel Bacquier; Choeurs et Orchestre du Capitole du Toulouse conducted by Michel Plasson. Angel DSB 3981 (two records) (digital). EMI’s burgeoning Offenbach operetta series here acquires a dollop of glamour with the arrival of Norman, who lends a voluptuous aura to the face that launched at least a dozen hummable tunes. The pleasures of this latest recording extend also to its refined musicality; rarely has this 1864 Homeric sendup been so honestly sung, even in the minor roles. Plasson admits virtually none of the parlando posturing that has hitherto seemed de rigueur in Offenbach. Norman has still not mastered the art of pointing the French language to sustained comic ends, but the rich portraiture of the rest of the cast--Alliot-Lugaz as a chipper Orestes, Burles as a henpecked Menelaus and the veteran Bacquier as a blustering Agamemnon--more than compensate. Plasson’s conducting stresses the sensuality of the vocal line as much as its wit.