The Umbrellas of Cherbourg

In 1964 Catherine Fabienne Dorléac was 20 years old, and already a 7-year veteran of film. In Jacques Demy's masterpiece, she portrays Geneviève Émery against Nino Castelnuovo as Guy Foucher. "Umbrellas" shares a few themes with this month's opera selections: young love, youth and beauty, wealth and stability. Notably, there is no burning jealousy, nor red-not murder.

Musically, "Umbrellas" is a through-composed opera. But none of the actors are trained singers and the singing is dubbed and/or lipsynched. Upon release it was met with critical acclaim and enthusastic attendance by the public and is considered one of the best musicals of all time. While that may be argued, it is undeniably a unique an beautiful work of art.