Reviews

Under the direction of Jacques Lacombe, the Orchestre symphonique de Mulhouse brought the musically rich and often lyrical, but also highly dramatic score to its sonorous best and was rewarded by the public at the end with rare cheers—seeming particularly impressed by the musical quality of the opera.

If there was a good reason to attend this Roi Arthus in Strasbourg, it was certainly to hear the Orchestre symphonique de Mulhouse: a lively orchestra, led by Jacques Lacombe who never let the tension wither – one of the characteristics of this work – thanks to the full and intense texture of the strings, which beautifully rendered the luminosity in places of Chausson’s almost “Fauré-like” score.

Close your eyes to just listen? For the orchestra, certainly: Jacques Lacombe has done a remarkable job with the Orchestre Symphonique de Mulhouse.

If the performance has merit and can be followed until the end, it is thanks to the passionate conviction of Jacques Lacombe who with continuity and impressive energy, brings the Symphonique de Mulhouse well above what we expected…

For saving the sinking boat by making the multiple ways of this crossroads of influences heard through leaned down and tightened textures of an Orchestre symphonique de Mulhouse on the rise, as much as a sense for the dramatic progression impervious to the mistakes of the staging, Jacques Lacombe is worthy not only of the unique praises we can sincerely address to this production, but also like Arthus, taken across the blue waters, to “the crowning glory of believing in the Ideal”.

... l’Orchestre Symphonique de Mulhouse adapts to the acoustics of the hall and gives under the baton of Jacques Lacombe a dynamic and rather nuanced reading, thus reserving for the music lovers the bulk of the satisfaction for this production.

The other great satisfaction of the evening comes from the pit, where the Canadian conductor Jacques Lacombe, specialist of forgotten composers (among others, he has recorded the opera Colonel Chabert by Hermann von Walthershausen for CPO in 2010), shows great care to not cover the voices while also controlling the role of the strings to bring out the subtleties of the orchestration. Surely a conductor to follow.