Jacques Offenbach

Gaîté Parisienne

as presented by the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo

Le Ballet Française Orchestre / P. Montiel

(LP transfer; Somerset "Stereo Fidelity", issued 1960)

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Jacques Offenbach (arr. Rosenthal)

Gaîté Parisienne (Suite)

1. Overture

2. Tortoni

3. Gallop

4. Valse

5. March

6. Grand Valse

7. Finale: Can Can No. 1

8. Finale: Can Can No. 2

     and Quadrille

London Philharmonic Orchestra / Efrem Kurtz

(78 rpm transfers; Columbia, 1944)

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Probably since the celebrated recording made by Efrem Kurtz and the London Philharmonic of a suite of this music have few others captured the verve and life of this ballet quite as well as the ensemble conducted by P. Montiel. The original production was choreographed by Léonide Massine and first performed in 1938.  The music is derived from the scores of Jacques Offenbach and incorporates a story from Comte Etienne de Beaumont. 

I've had this copy of the P. Montiel LP since the mid-1960's ... and seem to remember finding it in a supermarket. After all these years, it's still a lot of fun to listen to - not the least due to the consistent flair of the performance and the immediacy of the recording. It's assumed that this disc includes the full ballet; if not, then very close to it.