Admittedly. It is a dragon of a story with a high “crying gypsy boy” content. And yet…

In a way, Zazá is reminiscent of Cilea’s Adriana Lecouvreur. The heroine is a celebrated singer who starts a complicated relationship with a man she does not know is married.

Like Adriana, she is faithfully assisted by an older colleague who was once her lover and who still loves her. But unlike Adriana, it doesn’t kill her, at least if you don’t take deadly grief too literally.

Faced with her lover’s daughter (handkerchief at hand?), she makes a proud decision and leaves the crook, but first she confronts her slippery lover with the real facts of his character.
No murder, no suicide, but a drama brimming with silent tears.

Ermonella Jaho (Zazá) has a light soprano voice with silver overtones: beautiful and very belcanto like. Too much, actually, because personally I would have preferred a bit more volume.

Stephaen Gaertner is a fine Cascart: he sings his big hit Zazá , piccola zingara with great empathy and warmth, although he cannot not make me forget his illustrious colleagues.

Renato Zanelli:

Riccardo Massi may not sing beautifully, but he seems to have verismo in his blood and he gives Milio a real face.

The BBC Symphony Orchestra plays beautifully, but for me it is all too neat and too well-be