Ô mon bel inconnu

This musical comedy was Reynaldo Hahn’s second collaboration with Sacha Guitry, after Mozart (1925). The composer was then enjoying well-deserved fame in the light lyric genres: after Ciboulette (1923), he had scored success after success in the smaller theatres of Paris (Le Temps d’aimer, Une revue, Brummel), and Ô mon bel inconnu came as no disappointment. Le Figaro singled out the “elegance of tone and distinction of form” so characteristic of Hahn in the interwar period, while regarding him as the rightful heir of André Messager. Le Ménestrel was just as enthusiastic: ‘The music of Monsieur Reynaldo Hahn fits the subject with a versatility and sureness of touch which are something of a miracle. It shows an incomparable refinement and tact and, at the same time, a wit that does not preclude emotion. It is enhanced by an orchestration that is brisk, incisive and transparent.’