Episode 425. Mady Mesplé chante l’Opérette viennoise
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For the final episode of 2025, and of Season Six of the podcast, I present pure frothy escapism from the delectable Mady Mesplé, the finest French coloratura of her generation. My original intention was to feature her exclusively in operetta repertoire, and I’ve stuck to that. But as I began to compile a setlist I realized that there was a subset of her recordings of this repertoire that presented her at her absolute finest: Viennese operetta, as translated into French. From her earliest recordings, operetta was central to her recorded canon, and from 1969 through 1980, she made a choice selection of complete recordings of operetta in French for the Pathé label. Throughout her recorded legacy, there are selections from works such as La veuve joyeuse, (Die lustige Witwe) Trois valses (Drei Walzer), Le pays du sourire (Das Land des Lächelns), Sang viennois (Wiener Blut) and others, which made such a smooth transition into French that they often sounded as if they were could originally have been set in that language. In addition, in the year 1971, Mesplé made a high-flying recording of Johann Strauss waltzes set to French texts that represents her at her vocal zenith. From all of these aforementioned sources, as well as from a 1980 recording of operetta arias with conductor Pierre Dervaux, come the selections for this episode. And for those who would like some Viennese operetta in its original language, the episode begins with the creator records from Franz Lehár’s final original operetta Giuditta, as recorded by Richard Tauber and Jarmila Novotná with Lehár himself conducting the Wiener Philharmoniker. In whichever language you choose, let us waltz our way out of this horrific year into a more humane and livable 2026!
RECORDINGS HEARD IN THIS EPISODE
Franz Lehár, Paul Knepler, Fritz Löhner-Beda: Giuditta [Querschnitt]. Jarmila Novotná, Richard Tauber, Franz Lehár, Wiener Philharmoniker [1934]
Freunde, das Leben ist lebenswert [RT]
Schön wie die blaue Sommernacht [RT, JN]
Welch tiefes Rätsel ist die Liebe… Du bist meine Sonne! [RT]
Ich weiß es selber nicht… Meine Lippen, sie küssen so heiß [JN]
So wie um den Sonnenball [RT]
Schönste der Frau’n begann das Lied [RT]
Johann Strauss II, arr. Eugène Cools, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Julius Bittner: Désir de rire, plaisir d’aimer (Valses de Vienne). Mady Mesplé, Bernard Sinclair, Jean Doussard, Orchestre du Theatre National de l’Opéra-Comique, Choeurs René Duclos [1972]
Johann Strauss II, Franck Harvel, Gérard Layani, arr. Franck Pourcel: Aimer, boire et chanter [Wein, Web und Gesang], Op. 333. Mady Mesplé, Franck Pourcel et son Orchestre [1971]
Johann Strauss II, arr. Eugène Cools, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Julius Bittner: Tout est soleil, tout est printemps (Valses de Vienne). Mady Mesplé, Orchestra conducted by Jean Laforge [ca. 1960]
Johann Strauss II [adapted Josef Strauss, Adolf Müller], [French adaptation after Victor Léon, Leo Stein]: Ô ma colombe (Sang viennois [Wiener Blut]). Mady Mesplé, Henri Legay, Adolphe Sibert, Orchestre Lyrique de l’ORTF [live Paris 09.III.70]
Johann Strauss II, Franck Harvel, Gérard Layani, arr. Franck Pourcel: Sang viennois [Wiener Blut], Op. 354. Mady Mesplé, Franck Pourcel et son Orchestre [1971]
Johann Strauss II, Franck Harvel, Gérard Layani, arr. Franck Pourcel: Rêve de printemps [Frühlingsstimmen], Op. 410. Mady Mesplé, Franck Pourcel et son Orchestre [1971]
Johann Strauss II, arr. Eugène Cools, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Julius Bittner: Je ne suis plus de votre rang (Valses de Vienne). Mady Mesplé, Orchestra conducted by Jean Laforge [ca. 1960]
Franz Lehár, André Mauprey, Jean Marietti [after Ludwig Herzer, Fritz Löhner-Beda, Viktor Léon]: Merci pour ce charmant accueil [Entrée de Lisa] (Le Pays du Sourire [Das Land des Lächelns]). Mady Mesplé, Pierre Dervaux, Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo [1980]
Franz Lehár, Robert de Flers, Gaston Arman de Caillavet [after Henri Meilhac, Victor Léon, Leo Stein]: Duo du petit sentier (La Veuve joyeuse [Die lustige Witwe]). Mady Mesplé, Louis Rialland, Orchestra conducted by Jean Laforge [1960]
Franz Lehár, Robert de Flers, Gaston Arman de Caillavet [after Henri Meilhac, Victor Léon, Leo Stein]: Là-bas dans nos rudes vallées [Chanson de Vilya] (La Veuve joyeuse [Die lustige Witwe]). Mady Mesplé, Pierre Dervaux, Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo [1980]
Johann Strauss II, Franck Harvel, Gérard Layani, arr. Franck Pourcel: Kaiser-Walzer [Valse impériale], Op. 437. Mady Mesplé, Franck Pourcel et son Orchestre [1971]
Oscar Straus [after Johann Strauss II], Léopold Marchand, Albert Willemetz [after Paul Knepler, Armin Robinson]: Je t’aime quand même [Valse d’Yvette] (Trois Valses [Drei Walzer]). Mady Mesplé, Pierre Dervaux, Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo [1980]
Oscar Straus, Léopold Marchand, Albert Willemetz [after Paul Knepler, Armin Robinson]: Je ne suis pas ce que l’on pense [Couplets d’Irène] (Trois Valses [Drei Walzer]). Mady Mesplé, Pierre Dervaux, Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo [1980]
Johann Strauss II, Franck Harvel, Gérard Layani, arr. Franck Pourcel: Le beau Danube bleu [An der schönen blauen Donau], Op. 314. Mady Mesplé, Franck Pourcel et son Orchestre [1971]