CD1
1. La reine de Saba, opera: Introduction 
2. La reine de Saba, opera: Act 1. Que cette main-vous donne l'ètre 
3. La reine de Saba, opera: Act 1. Comme la naissante aurore 	
4. La reine de Saba, opera: Act 1. Maître! 
5. La reine de Saba, opera: Act 1. Gloire à toi, divine princesse			play 	
6. La reine de Saba, opera: Act 1. Le monde a retenti du bruit 	
7. La reine de Saba, opera: Act 2. Faiblesse de la race humaine! 	
8. La reine de Saba, opera: Act 2. Maître! 	
9. La reine de Saba, opera: Act 2. De votre devine présence 	
10. La reine de Saba, opera: Act 3. Dejà l'aube matinale 	
11. La reine de Saba, opera: Act 3. Mes fille, allez	Listen
12. La reine de Saba, opera: Act 3. Me volià seule enfin! 	
13. La reine de Saba, opera: Act 3. Adoniram! ... Balkis! 
14. La reine de Saba, opera: Act 3. Mon Maître

CD2
1. La reine de Saba, opera: Act 4. Soliman, notre Roi 
2. La reine de Saba, opera: Act 4. Ballet. Allegro 
3. La reine de Saba, opera: Act 4. Ballet. Moderato 	
4. La reine de Saba, opera: Act 4. Ballet. Andante Moderato 
5. La reine de Saba, opera: Act 4. Ballet. Allegretto 
6. La reine de Saba, opera: Act 4. Ballet. Mouvement de Valse 				play	
7. La reine de Saba, opera: Act 4. La Reine? ... Sous les pieds d'une femme 	
8. La reine de Saba, opera: Act 4. Hâtez-vous de parler 
9. La reine de Saba, opera: Act 4. Seigneur! Adoniram s'avance 
10. La reine de Saba, opera: Act 4. Un rebelle Dedaigne mes bienfaits 	
11. La reine de Saba, opera: Act 4. Elle est en mon pouvoir 	
12. La reine de Saba, opera: Act 5. C'est ici! 	
13. La reine de Saba, opera: Act 5. La foudre gronde! 
14. La reine de Saba, opera: Act 5. Ó terreur!

La Regina Balkis - Federica Scaini
Benoni - Anna Lucia Alessio
Sarahil - Annalisa Carbonara
Adoniram - Jeon-Won Lee
Il Re Soliman - Luca Grassi
Amrou - Salvatore Cordella
Phanor - Jean Vendassi
Methousael - Pietro Naviglio
Sadoc - Volodymyr Deyneka

Coro da Camera di Bratislava
Orchestra Internazionale d'Italia
Manlio Benzi - conductor, 2001

La reine de Saba ("The Queen of Sheba") is a grand opera in four or five acts by Charles Gounod to a libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré inspired by Gérard de Nerval's Le voyage en Orient. It was premiered at the Salle Le Peletier by the Paris Opera on February 28, 1862.

An English reworking of the libretto by Henry Farnie "interwoven [with] certain legends and traditions of freemasonry" was titled Irene. It transposed the action to Istanbul in the time of Suleyman the Magnificent and the building of the Great Mosque and used almost all of Gounod's music.

The big song from La reine de Saba is the tenor aria 'Inspirez-moi, race divine!', in which the hero invokes the example of the sons of Tubal-Cain (son of Lamech and Zillah, the founder of metalworking) as the molten metal flows into its mould. In its English version 'How vain and weak a thing is man... Lend me your aid, O race divine', this became a war-horse of the concert repertoire, surviving into the 20th century in the recordings of Edward Lloyd and Walter Widdop. It was also recorded by Enrico Caruso, in one of whose versions the English text was re-translated back into French with the exceptionable formula: 'Prêtes-moi ton aide'.

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Les Sept Paroles de notre Seigneur Jesus Christ sur la Croix
01. Prologue
02. I - Pere, pardonnez-leur, ils ne savent ce qu'ils font
03. II - Aujourd 'hui meme, tu seras avec moi dans le Paradis
04. III - Femme, voici ton fils - Voici ta mere
05. IV - Mon dieu, mon dieu, pourquoi m'avez-vous abandonne
06. V - J'ai soif
07. VI - Tout est accompli
08. VII - Pere, je remets mon esprit entre tes mains

Messe breve no. 7 'aux chapelles'
09. Kyrie
10. Gloria
11. Sanctus
12. O salutaris
13. Agnus dei

Symphonie no. 2
14. Introduction - Adagio
15. Larghetto non troppo
16. Scherzo - Allegro molto
17. Finale - Allegro, leggiero assai

Herman Verschraegen, organ
Chorale Caecilia
Philharmonie Roumaine d'état de Transylvanie
Jean-Louis Petit - conductor, 1993

The Seven Last Words of Christ refers to the seven short phrases uttered by Jesus on the cross, as gathered from the four Christian Gospels. The Crucifixion of Jesus has served as inspiration to a great many visual artists and composers over the centuries. In particular, at least 16 composers have written musical settings of the Seven Last Words, for various combinations of voice and/or instruments.

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Disc: 1
1. Ov: Prologue: Verone Vit Jadis Deux Familles Rivales... - Chor Regional Midi-Pyrenees/Jose Aquino/Chor Du Capitole De Toulouse/Guy Lhomme
2. Act One, No.1. Intro: L'Heure S'envole... - Charles Burles/Kurt Ollmann/Gabriel Bacquier/Catherine Malfitano/Gino Quilico/Alfredo Kraus/Chor...
3. Act One, No.2. Ballade De La Reine Mab: Mab, La Reine Des Mensonges... - Gino Quilico
4. Act One, No.2a. Recitatif & Scene: Eh Bien!...Que L'avertissement Me Vienne De Mab... - Alfredo Kraus/Gino Quilico
5. Act One, No.3. Ariette: Ah! Je Veux Vivre Dans Le Reve... - Catherine Malfitano
6. Act One, No.3a. Recitatif: Le Nom De Cette Belle Enfant? - Alfredo Kraus/Jean-Marie Fremeau/Jocelyne Taillon/Catherine Malfitano
7. Act One, No.4. Madrigal: Ange Adorable - Alfredo Kraus/Catherine Malfitano
8. Act One, No.5. Finale: Quelqu'un! - Alfredo Kraus/Catherine Malfitano/Charles Burles/Kurt Ollmann
9. Act Two, No.6. Entracte & Chor: O Nuit! Sou Tes Ailes Obscures... - Alfredo Kraus/Gino Quilico/Chor Regional Midi-Pyrenees/Jose Aquino/Chor Du Capitole De Toulouse...
10. Act Two, No.7. Cavatine: L'amour, L'amour! Oui, Son Ardeur A Trouble... - Alfredo Kraus
11. Act Two, No.8. Scene & Chors: Helas: Moi, Le Hair!... - Catherine Malfitano/Alfredo Kraus/Jean-Marie Fremeau/Chor Regional Midi-Pyrenees/Jose Aquino...

Disc: 2
1. Act Two, No.9. Duo: O Nuit Divine! Je T'implore!... - Alfredo Kraus/Catherine Malfitano/Jocelyne Taillon
2. Act Three, Scene One. No.10 Entracte & Scene: Mon Pere! Dieu Vous Garde!... - Alfredo Kraus/Jose Van Dam/Catherine Malfitano
3. Act Three, Scene One. No.11 Trio & Quatuor: Dieu Qui Fit L'homme A Ton Image! - Jose Van Dam/Catherine Malfitano/Alfredo Kraus/Jocelyne Taillon
4. Act Three, Scene Two. No.12 Chanson: Depuis Hier Je Cherche En Vain Mon Maitre! - Ann Murray
5. Act Three, Scene Two. No.13 Finale: Ah! Ah! Voici Nos Gens! - Jean-Marie Fremeau/Ann Murray/Chor Regional Midi-Pyrenees/Jose Aquino/Chor Du Capitole De...
6. Act Four, Scene One. No.14 Duo: Va! Je T'ai Pardonne... - Catherine Malfitano/Alfredo Kraus

Disc: 3
1. Act Four, Scene One. No.15 Quatuor: Ah! Le Ciel Soit Toue!... - Jocelyne Taillon/Catherine Malfitano/Gabriel Bacquier/Jose Van Dam
2. Act Four, Scene One. No.16 Scene: Mon Pere! Tout M'accable! - Catherine Malfitano/Jose Van Dam
3. Act Four, Scene One. No.17 Scene Air: Dieu! Quel Frisson Court Dans Mes Veines! - Catherine Malfitano
4. Act Four, Scene Two. No.18 Cortege Nuptial - Orch Du Capitole De Toulouse/Michel Plasson
5. Act Four, Scene Two. No.18 bis Epithalame: Loi Rigoureuse! Ah! Je Tremble! Malheureuse! - Catherine Malfitano/Jocelyne Taillon/Kurt Ollmann/Gabriel Bacquier/Marie-Christine Bruneau...
6. Act Four, Scene Two. No.19 Finale: Ma Fille, Cede Aux Voeux... - Gabriel Bacquier/Catherine Malfitano/Jocelyne Taillon/Kurt Ollmann/Chor Regional Midi-Pyrenees...
7. Act Five, No.20. Entracte - Orch Du Capitole De Toulouse/Michel Plasson
8. Act Five, No.20 bis. Scene: Eh! Bien! Ma Lettre A Romeo? - Jose Van Dam/Gerard Blatt
9. Act Five, No.21. Le Sommeil De Juliette - Orch Du Capitole De Toulouse/Michel Plasson
10. Act Five, No.22. Scene & Duo: C'est La...Salut! Tombeau Sombre Et Silencieux! - Alfredo Kraus/Catherine Malfitano 

ROMÈO Alfredo Kraus
JULIETTE Catherine Malfitano
FRÈRE LAURENT Josè Van Dam
STÈPHANO Ann Murray
LE COMTE CAPULET Gabriel Bacquier
MERCUTIO Gino Quilico
GERTRUDE Jocelyn Taillon
TYBAIT Charles Burles
LE COMTE PÀRIS Kurt Ollmann
GREGORIO Jean-Marie Fremeau
BENVOLIO Roger Trenien
LE DUC DE VÈRONE Jean-Jacques Doumenè

Régional Midi-Pyrénées Choeur 
Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse
Michel Plasson - conductor

This particular recording of Charles Gounod's Romeo et Julette, finds the principal cast members sounding much more the age of Shakespeare's young lovers than any of the other major recordings of this opera including Corelli and Freni, Domingo and Swenson, and even Alagna and Gheorghiu. The genuine sound also benefits from exemplary French diction and style lacking in the Corelli/Freni recording, in particular. Catherine Malfitano has a sweet, youthful sounding ring to her soprano that blends well with Alfredo Kraus' lighter tenor in the many duets they share. One may be disappointed that Kraus for some reason chose not to diminuendo the last high B flat of his "Ah! Leve-Toi, Soliel." Kraus had beautiful pianissimo top notes and if Franco Corelli, a truly dramatic, attack the top notes tenor could do it, Kraus most cecertainly should have too! The singing of Jose van Dam and Ann Murray on this recording are also noteworthy, and as always Michel Plasson leads his Toulouse forces with his signature attention to detail. Overall, perhaps the most enjoyable recording of this opera available. ---RAWoFFtheWaLL, amazon.com

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1. Act 1: 40 min
2. Act 2: 27 min
3. Act 3: 35 min
4. Act 4: 37 min
5. Act 5: 19 min

Duke of Verona	 - Simon Neal
Paris - ZhengZhong Zhou
Capulet	 - Darren Jeffery
Juliette	- Nino Machaidze
Gertrude, Juliette's nurse -  Diana Montague
Tybalt - Alfie Boe
Roméo	- Piotr Beczala
Mercutio, Roméo's friend - Stéphane Degout
Stéphano, Roméo's page - Ketevan Kemoklidze
Gregorio, Capulet's servant - James Cleverton
Frère Laurent - Vitalij Kowaljow

The Royal Opera Chorus
Dulwich Children from St Anthony's Catholic Primary School
The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Daniel Oren – conductor

1 November 2010
ROYAL OPERA HOUSE, COVENT GARDEN

Charles Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette is almost more musical than opera. Everyone knows the story, and it would be hard to compete with Shakespeare. Gounod wisely focused on music, rather than drama. Hence the reputation of this opera has rested on its showpiece arias, and on good performances. Piotr Beczala defined this production at the Royal Opera House, London with an excellent Roméo, well shaped vocally and expressively full of character.

Beczala is relatively new to Roméo, having created it at Salzburg in 2008, and again in August 2010. Nino Machaidze sang Juliette at Salzburg this year too, at later stages of the run, which started with Anna Netrebko and Beczala. Pairing Beczala and Machaidze for the London production was an inspired choice. Although the productions in Salzburg and London are completely different, Beczala and Machaidze carried over what they’d built previously.

The London production is Stephen Barlow’s revival of Nicholas Joel’s production, revived only for the second time since 1994.The sets are like picture postcards, and the pace of movement staid, almost unnatural. It’s worrying when the most vivid scenes are choreographed by the Fight Director, Philip Stafford. Admittedly, Gounod’s treatment of Roméo et Juliette doesn’t lend itself to intellectual depth, but fortunately Beczala amd Machaidze injected enthusiasm into the production.

Beczala’s Roméo defined the performance. Excellent pitch control, luscious timbre. A wonderful and deeply expressive “L’ amour, oui, son ardeur a troublé tout mon être!”. The love duets were beautiful, even if Beczala overshadowed Machaidze’s Juliette. Still, that’s not surprising, as he’s just more experienced. With Netrebko he must have been superb. In the last act, Beczala’s “Salut, tombeau sombre et silencieux!,” was well modulated, emotionally profound. marred very slightly when he had to turn backwards, projecting sound awry. I loved Beczala’s Shepherd in Szymanowski’s Król Roger and enjoyed hearing him develop over the years. Romantic Heroes are now his forte, but he has the depth, I think, to eventually tackle Heldentenor territory.

Machaidze looks like Olivia Hussey in Franco Zeffirelli’s 1968 film of Romeo and Juliet, which adds piquancy to her portrayal. Her voice is light and agile, the brightness of her timbre expressing Juliette’s youthful innocence, her firm lower register expressing the wilder parts of Juliette’s character. Like many 14 year olds, Juliette does extremes, as Shakespeare observed. Machaidze may not have the polish of many much more famous and experienced singers but she’s convincing enough. When she sings of waking too soon, holding Tybalt’s bloodstained hand, she sings with such fervour that you realize that this Juliette knows what risks she’s taking. Sweet as she is, Machaidze’s Juliette has a brain.

Good performance standards all round. Darren Jeffrey as Capulet towers physically over the other players, which is as well, for Gounod develops the part well. Vitalij Kowaljow’s Frère Laurent was also notable and Stéphane Degout as Mercutio. Ketevan Kemoklidze’s Stéphano, Roméo’s Page, makes a delightful impression in the song about doves and vultures, but artistically the vignette adds little.

Alfie Boe as Tybalt received prolonged applause which he acknowledged as if he were a principal. He has a huge following because he does popular song but that adulation might be his undoing. Not long ago a fan complained when he was unwell and couldn’t adequately be replaced. That kind of audience isn’t into opera as such, but in chasing celebrity. Gounod’s choruses are justly celebrated and the Royal Opera House chorus responded well. Here they were directed to maximum advantage, and as usual, their performance was well executed. --- Anne Ozorio , operatoday.com

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1. Symphony No. 1 In D: 1. Allegro molto
2. Symphony No. 1 In D: 2. Allegro moderato
3. Symphony No. 1 In D: 3. Scherzo. Non troppo presto
4. Symphony No. 1 In D: 4. Finale. Adagio - Allegro vivace
5. Symphony No. 2 In E-Flat: 1. Adagio - Allegro agitato
6. Symphony No. 2 In E-Flat: 2. Larghetto
7. Symphony No. 2 In E-Flat: 3. Scherzo. Allegro molto
8. Symphony No. 2 In E-Flat: 4. Finale. Allegro, leggiero assai
9. (Faust) Ballet Music: 1. Les Nubiennes, valse (Allegretto)
10. (Faust) Ballet Music: 2. Adagio - Animato
11. (Faust) Ballet Music: 3. Danse antique (Allegretto)
12. (Faust) Ballet Music: 4. Variations de Cleopatre (Moderato maestoso)
13. (Faust) Ballet Music: 5. Les Troyennes (Moderato con moto)
14. (Faust) Ballet Music: 6. Variations du miroir (Allegretto)
15. (Faust) Ballet Music: 7. Danse de Phryne (Allegro vivo)

Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields
Neville Marriner – conductor

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CD1
01. Introduction
02. Rien! En Vain J'Interroge
03. Ah! Paresseuse Fille
04. Me voici!... D'ou vient ta surprise?
05. O merveille!
06. Vin ou biere
07. O Sainte Medaille...
08. Allons, amis! point de vaines alarmes!
09. Merci de ta chanson!
10. Nous nous retrouverons, mes amis!
11. Ne permettrez-vous pas...
12. Faites-lui mes aveux
13. C'est Ici!
14. Quel trouble inconnu me penetre?
15. Je voudrais bien savoir
16. Les grands seigneurs ont

CD2
01. Seigneur Dieu! Que vois-je?
02. Et quoi! toujours seule?
03. Il se fait tard, adieu!
04. O nuit d'amour, ciel radieux
05. Vous auriez grand besoin, docteur
06. Seigneur, daignez permettre…
07. Helas! Ce chant pieux est plus terrible encore
08. Deposons les armes
09. Allons, Siebel! Entrons dans la maison...
10. Que voulez-vous, messieurs?
11. Ecoute-moi bien, Marguerite!
12. Va t'en - Le jour va luire
13. Marguerite! - Ah! C'est lui!
14. Alerte, alerte, ou vous etes perdus...

Faust - Giuseppe di Stefano
Méphistophélès - Italo Tajo
Wagner - Denis Harbour
Valentin - Leonard Warren
Siebel - Inge Manski
Marguerite - Dorothy Kirsten
Marthe - Claramae Turner

Orchestra and Chorus of the Metropolitan Opera House
Wilfrid Pelletier - conductor

Giuseppe Di Stefano's youthful magical, legendary Faust from 1949 is joined by Kirsten, Tajo, and Warren in a performance long to be remembered!! French specialist Pelletier conducts!! This is Di Stefano at his best, displaying the vocal qualities that gained him great fame!! His high C in "Salut demeure" is remarkable, and it prompted Rudolf Bing to write "I shall never forget, as long as I live, the beauty of that sound," so magical, with its glorious diminuendo. Kirsten and Warren sing magnificently, and Tajo's Mephistopheles is full of character and energy. --- Editorial Reviews

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CD1
Charles Gounod - Introduction
Charles Gounod - ACT 1 - Rien! En vain j'interroge...
Charles Gounod - Ah! Paresseuse fille...
Charles Gounod - Mais, ce Dieu que peut-il pour moi? - Me voici!
Charles Gounod - A moi les plaisirs...
Charles Gounod - ACT 2 - Vin ou bière
Charles Gounod - O sainte médaille
Charles Gounod - Avant de quitter ces lieux
Charles Gounod - Le veau d'or
Charles Gounod - Merci de ta chanson!
Charles Gounod - De l'enfer qui vient émousser nos armes
Charles Gounod - Nous nous retrouvons, mes amis!
Charles Gounod - Ainsi que la brise légère...
Charles Gounod - Ne permettrez-vous pas ma belle demoiselle

CD2
Charles Gounod - Introduction
Charles Gounod - Faites-lui-mes aveux
Charles Gounod - C'est ici?
Charles Gounod - Attendez - moi là, cher docteur
Charles Gounod - Quel trouble inconnu me pénètre!...Salut! demeure chaste et pure...
Charles Gounod - Alerte! la voilà!
Charles Gounod - Je voudrais bien savoir... Il était un roi de Thulé
Charles Gounod - Un bouquet!... O Dieu, que de bijoux!
Charles Gounod - Seigneur Dieu, que vois-je!... Dame Marthe Schwerlein, svp?
Charles Gounod - Prenez mon bras un moment!
Charles Gounod - Il était temps!
Charles Gounod - Il se fait tard!
Charles Gounod - Tenez! Elle ouvre sa fenêtre!... Il m'aime!
Charles Gounod - Introduction
Charles Gounod - Elles ne sont plus là!
Charles Gounod - Marguerite!... Siebel!
Charles Gounod - Si le bonheur...
Charles Gounod - Seigneur, daignez permettre...
Charles Gounod - Souviens-toi du passé
Charles Gounod - Quand du Seigneur...

CD3
Charles Gounod - Déposons les armes!
Charles Gounod - Gloire immortelle
Charles Gounod - Allons, Siebel!
Charles Gounod - Vous qui faites l'endormie
Charles Gounod - Que voulez-vous, messieurs?
Charles Gounod - Par ici, par ici, mes amis!
Charles Gounod - Écoute-moi bien, Marguerite
Charles Gounod - Dans les bruyères
Charles Gounod - Jusqu'aux premiers feux du matin
Charles Gounod - Que ton ivresse, o volupté
Charles Gounod - Intermezzo
Charles Gounod - Va-t'en!
Charles Gounod - Mon coeur est pénétré d'épouvante!
Charles Gounod - Ah! C'est la voix du bien-aimé!... Oui, c'est moi, je t'aime!
Charles Gounod - Alerte, alerte... Anges purs... Christ est ressuscité
Charles Gounod - Les Nubiennes
Charles Gounod - Adagio
Charles Gounod - Danse antique
Charles Gounod - Variations de Cléopâtre
Charles Gounod - Les Troyennes
Charles Gounod - Variations du miroir
Charles Gounod - Danse de Phryné

Plácido Domingo (tenor) - (Faust)
Mirella Freni (soprano) - (Marguerite)
Nicolaï Ghiaurov (bass) - (Méphistophélès)
Thomas Allen (baritone) - (Valentin)
Michèle Command (soprano) - (Siébel)
Jocelyne Taillon (soprano) - (Dame Marthe)
Marc Vento (baritone) - (Wagner)

Chorus of the Théâtre National de l'Opéra de Paris/Jean Laforge
Orchestra of the Théâtre National de l'Opéra de Paris
Georges Prêtre – conductor

This EMI Classics/Prêtre recording of Gounod’s Faust was first issued in 1979 and digitally re-mastered in 1986. Released several times over the years this well cast and dedicated interpretation is regarded by many as a classic recording. The tradition of making recordings of Faust started as long ago as 1909 when Enrico Caruso made the first recordings of extended highlights from the opera.

Gounod wrote twelve operas between 1851 and 1881. Faust was the fourth of these and took him almost three years to write. He used a French libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré that combines the first part of Goethe’s dramatic poem Faust, in the French translation by Gérard de Nerval, with a contribution from Michel Carré’s own adaptation Faust et Marguerite.

The hero of the classic German fable, the philosopher and alchemist Doctor Faust makes a pact with the Devil in exchange for superhuman knowledge and power. The Faust legend has been the basis for many literary and musical works, such as those by Goethe, Christopher Marlowe, Thomas Mann, Berlioz, Liszt, Wagner, Schumann and Gounod. Goethe’s dramatic poem of the Faust legend made him Germany’s most celebrated writer; giving him enduring worldwide literary fame.

The opera Faust is Gounod’s masterwork and was premièred at the Théatre-Lyrique, Paris on 19 March 1859. In 1868-69, for its new production at the Paris Opéra, Gounod made revisions adding ballet music to the score. It rapidly achieved international distinction and for more than half a century after its première was probably the most popular opera in the repertoire. For opera-lovers its elevated status, with the exception of temporary changes in vogue, has endured. It was selected for the inauguration of the New York Metropolitan Opera House in 1883. Evidently its high frequency of production there led to the frivolous idea by the New York music critic W.J. Henderson that that the Met should be renamed the ‘Faustspielhaus’.

Writer Gervase Hughes in 1969 stated that for many, “a mention of Faust does in the first instance call to mind neither the Urfaust, nor Marlowe, nor Goethe, nor such musical interpreters of the legend of Schumann, Liszt, Berlioz and Wagner; but rather Gounod, that talented eclectic and inconsistent French composer...” I note that writer Alan Jefferson in The Glory of Opera (1976, rev. 1983) does not include Gounod’s Faust in his list of the twenty-five Great Operas, although it would certainly feature in any my list. Author Richard Somerset-Ward in The Story of the Opera (1998) considers Faust as, “one of the most noble French exports of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries”, also describing it as “sugary and sentimental.”

In the opening monologue, Rien! ... En vain j'interroge and in Mais ce Dieu, que peut-il faire pour moi? tenor Plácido Domingo in the title role is secure, strong and passionate, providing superbly intelligent singing. In his cavatina Salut, demeure chaste et pure he is memorable and equally confident. Faust’s love duet with Marguerite, in the prima donna role, played by Mirella Freni Oui, c'est toi que j'aime is especially well performed conveying blissful happiness; tender and mesmerising.

Freni is dignified and expressive in her eleven-minute solo scene in Act 3 that commences with Je voudrais bien savoir…then Il était un Roi de Thulé…and Un bouquet!…O Dieu! que de bijoux! Her appealing account of the conclusion of the scene, the celebrated jewel song Ah! je ris de me voir is a highlight. In Marguerite’s aria Elles se cachaient the soprano reaches the high notes with rapt assurance. The baritone Thomas Allen is convincing and telling in his role as Valentin. In Avant de quitter ces lieux he delivers an especially proud and meaningful performance. I enjoyed Allen’s authoritative contribution to the virile Soldiers’ Chorus Gloire immortelle to celebrate a victorious homecoming.

Soprano Michèle Command is a delightful and creamy-toned Siébel as she skilfully demonstrates in her arias Faites-lui mes aveux and Si le bonheur. The duet between Plácido Domingo (Faust) and the marvellous bass Nicolaï Ghiaurov (Méphistophélès) A moi les plaisirs is notably dramatic. The Wagnerian brass episode is quite superbly played (CD 1, track 5 at 2:52-3:29). I loved the grotesque quality that Ghiaurov gives to Méphistophélès' serenade Vous qui faites l’endormie and his contemptuous tirade in Le veau d’or.

The orchestra and chorus perform to a high standard throughout. Their interpretation of a mysterious summer’s evening in the introduction to Act 3 is exceptional. Prêtre’s forces combine to particularly fine effect in Quand du Seigneur with the organ at 3:55 (CD 2, track 20) making a great impression. The opening scene of the final Act Dans les bruyères is set on Walpurgis Night when witches gather on Brocken in the German Harz Mountains. Here Faust and Méphistophélès attend the revelry and we can enjoy a splendid evocation of the fantasy world of spirits, elves and fairies echoed from Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. I loved the magical conclusion where the dying Marguerite’s soul ascends to heaven and in despair Faust genuflects in prayer. The exquisite entrance of the organ at (2:59, CD3, track 15) to augment the chorus and orchestra accentuates the emotion. The set closes with the seven pieces of ballet music as an appendix - a lovely independent suite.

This EMI Classics recording is impressive and well performed and recorded. I will return to this set often. Of the several other excellent versions in the catalogue my particular favourites are listed in order of preference at the end of the review.

On this reissued EMI Classics set the performance by this splendid cast is impressive. This is a version that will stand alongside the competing sets (listed above). However, some of the satisfaction is spoilt by the lack of full texts that should be regarded as de rigueur for an opera release. The five page synopsis is well-cued and there are also two pages of track numbers containing some bewildering aria titles. Trying to connect the two sources of information was a trial of tolerance. Furthermore, from the track number titles it is difficult to identify some of the popular pieces in the opera by name such as the: Jewel Song, Drinking Chorus, Spinning Song, The ballad of the King of Thule and the Flower Song. I had no problem with the pleasing and clear sound quality of the recording. The rather lacklustre presentation includes a decent enough essay by Richard Osborne. But it is the quality of the music and the performances that do the talking here. ---Michael Cookson, musicweb-international.com

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CD1
1. Mireille : Ouverture
2. Mireille - Acte I : I. Introduction - La Cueillette 
3. Mireille - Acte I : II. Récit "C'est Donc Vrai" 
4. Mireille - Acte I : III. Duo "Est-Elle Jeune Et Belle?" 
5. Mireille - Acte II : IV. Farandole Et Choeur "La Farandole Joyeuse Et Folle"     play
6. Mireille - Acte II : IV. Chanson De Magali "La Brise Est Douce Et Parfumée" 
7. Mireille - Acte II : IV. Scène Et Choeur "Place ! Place Aux Coureurs !" 
8. Mireille - Acte II : IV. Récit "Eh Bien! Mireille" 
9. Mireille - Acte II : V. Chanson "Voici La Saison" 
10. Mireille - Acte II : V. Récit "Que J'épouse"
11. Mireille - Acte II : VI. Air "Mon Choeur Ne Peut Changer" 
12. Mireille - Acte II : VI. Récit "Ourrias ! Pourquoi Fuir Si Vite"
13. Mireille - Acte II : VII. Couplets "Si Les Filles D'Arles" 
14. Mireille - Acte II : VII. Récit "Adieu."                                      play
15. Mireille - Acte II : IIX. Finale
16. Mireille - Acte III : IX. Prélude "Voici Le Val De L'enfer" 

CD2
1. Mireille - Acte III : X. Scène Et Duo "Ils S'éloignent !" 
2. Mireille - Acte III : XI. Scène Le Rhône "Ah ! Qu'ai-Je Fait !"
3. Mireille - Acte IV - 1er Tableau : XII. Choeur Des Moissonneurs "Amis, Amis, Voici La Moisson Faite" 
4. Mireille - Acte IV - 1er Tableau : XIII. Musette
5. Mireille - Acte IV - 1er Tableau : XIV. Chanson "Le Jour Se Lève"
6. Mireille - Acte IV - 1er Tableau : XV. Cavatine "Heureux Petit Berger" 
7. Mireille - Acte IV - 1er Tableau : XV. Récit "Mireille ! Qui M'appelle" 
8. Mireille - Acte IV - 1er Tableau : XVI. Duo "Ah ! Parle Encore" 
9. Mireille - Acte IV - 2ème Tableau : XVI. Introduction
10. Mireille - Acte IV - 2ème Tableau : XVII. Air "Voici La Vaste Plaine" 
11. Mireille - Acte V : Xiix. Marche Et Choeur "Vous Qui Du Haut Des Cieux"               play
12. Mireille - Acte V : XIX. Cavatine "Mon Coeur Est Plein D'un Noir Souci"               play
13. Mireille - Acte V : XX. Scène Finale 

Mireille - Mirella Freni
Vincent - Alain Vanzo
Ourrias - José van Dam
Maître Ramon - Gabriel Bacquier
Taven - Jane Rhodes
Vincenette - Christine Barbaux
Maître Ambroise - Marc Vento
Clémence - Michèle Command
Andreloun - Luc Terrieux
Une Voix den-haut - Michèle Command

Orchestre et Choir du Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse
Michel Plasson – conductor

Mireille is an opera in five acts by Charles Gounod to a French libretto by Michel Carré after Frédéric Mistral's poem Mireio. The opera premiered at the Théâtre Lyrique, Paris on March 19, 1864; the first night was attended by Ivan Turgenev, who in a letter to Pauline Viardot, ridicules part of Act 3.

Criticisms of the original performances led to a revised version in three acts which was presented in Paris, on December 15, 1864, and yet another version with a happy ending for the Opéra-Comique in 1889. December performances of Mireille also included a revised ending to the overture (which has been used ever since although the original slower coda is printed in the 1970 vocal score) and the 'valse-ariette' "O légère hirondelle" for Mireille in Act I.

Mireille was seen in London, Dublin and Philadelphia in 1864 and Antwerp in 1865. Adelina Patti sang the title role in an Italian production in St Petersburg in 1874 with her husband Nicolini as Vincent.

In 1939 an attempt was made to revert to Gounod's original thoughts, and productions since then have generally followed the five act structure in a version edited by Henri Büsser. Whether the Busser edition (based on a new production in Paris, 6 June 1939, revived in Arles, 28 June 1941)[8] is a true reflection of the original score is doubtful: there may have been spoken dialogue at the première rather than recitatives; the end of Act II was originally a repeat of the concertato, not a recollection of the Chanson de Magali.

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CD1
01. Acte Premier – Introduction
02. Acte Premier - Rien!...En vain j'interroge
03. Acte Premier - Le ciel pâlit! Devant l'aube nouvelle
04. Acte Premier - O coupe des aîxuex
05. Acte Premier - Mais ce Dieu, que peut-il pour moi ?
06. Acte Premier - Me voici!... D'ou vient ta surprise
07. Acte Premier - A moi les plaisirs
08. Acte Premier - O merveille!..,
09. Acte Premier - Viens-...Je la reverrai
10. Acte Deuxieme - Vin ou biere, biere ou vin
11. Acte Deuxieme - O toi, sainte medaille
12. Acte Deuxieme - Avant de quitter ces lieux
13. Acte Deuxieme - Allons, amis! point de vaines alarmes!
14. Acte Deuxieme - Le veau d'or est toujours debout
15. Acte Deuxieme - Merci de ta chanson!
16. Acte Deuxieme - Nous nous retrouverons, mes amis!
17. Acte Deuxieme - Ainsi que la brise legere
18. Acte Deuxieme - Ne permettrez-vous pas
19. Acte Troisieme - Faites-lui mes aveux
20. Acte Troisieme - C'est ici!
21. Acte Troisieme - Que trouble inconnu me penetre!
22. Acte Troisieme - Salut! demeure chaste et pure
23. Acte Troisieme - Alerte! la voilà!
24. Acte Troisieme - Je voudrais bien savoir
25. Acte Troisieme - Il etait un roi de Thule
26. Acte Troisieme - Les grands seigneurs ont
27. Acte Troisieme - Ah! je ris de me voir
28. Acte Troisieme - Que vois-je, Seigneur Dieu!

CD2
01. Acte Troisieme - Ainsi vous voyagez toujours ?
02. Acte Troisieme - Et quoi! toujours seule
03. Acte Troisieme - Retirez-vous!...voici la nuit
04. Acte Troisieme - Il etait temps! sous le feuillage somber
05. Acte Troisieme - Laisse-moi, laisse-moi contempler
06. Acte Troisieme - O nuit d'amour'...ciel radieux!...
07. Acte Troisieme - Divine purete!...Chaste innocence
08. Acte Troisieme - Tete folle!..
09. Acte Quatrieme - Seigneur, daignez permettre
10. Acte Quatrieme - Deposons les armes
11. Acte Quatrieme - Allons, Siebel! entrons dans la maison!
12. Acte Quatrieme - Qu'attendez-vous encore?
13. Acte Quatrieme - Vous qui faites l'endormie
14. Acte Quatrieme - Que voulez-vous, messieurs?
15. Acte Quatrieme - Par ici, mes amis! on se bat dans la rue!
16. Acte Quatrieme - Ecoute-moi bien, Marguerite!..
17. Acte Cinquieme - Arrete!...N'as-tu pas promis
18. Acte Cinquieme – Balletto
19. Acte Cinquieme - Jusqu'aux premiers feux du matin
20. Acte Cinquieme – Balletto
21. Acte Cinquieme - Va-t-en
22. Acte Cinquieme - Mon coeur est penetre d'epouvante!
23. Acte Cinquieme - Attends!...voici la rue
24. Acte Cinquieme - Alerte! alerte! ou vousetes perdus!
25. Acte Cinquieme - Marguerite!...Pourquoi ce regard

Faust - Jussi Bjoerling
Méphistophélès - Cesare Siepi
Wagner - Lawrence Davidson
Valentin - Frank Guarrera
Siebel - Anne Bolinger
Marguerite - Dorothy Kirsten
Marthe - Thelma Votipka

Orchestra and Chorus of the Metropolitan Opera House
Fausto Cleva – conductor

Broadcast from the Met, 23rd December 1950

A classic performance of Gounod’s masterpiece comes to Naxos Historical this month in superbly restored sound that belies the age of the recording.

This recording is taken from one of the many broadcasts from New York’s Metropolitan Opera House made during the 1950s. Leading the performance is the hugely under-rated Fausto Cleva – a regular conductor of Faust at the Met in the post-war years – with a stellar cast including Jussi Björling as the eponymous antihero and the legendary bass Cesare Siepi as Méphistophélès, one of his signature roles.

Gounod’s setting of the Faust legend stands squarely within the central tradition of French grand opera of the nineteenth century, of which it is an outstanding example. The glittering orchestration and powerful dramatic settings ensured that Faust dominated the operatic stages of Europe and the USA throughout the nineteenth and early part of the twentieth centuries. --- mdt.co.uk

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Messe de Requiem en ut Majeur, pour 4 solistes, chœur mixte et orchestre
1. Introït & kyrie	6:11
2. Dies Irae	15:13
3. Sanctus	0:47
4. Benedictus	4:12
5. Pie Jesu	3:43
6. Agnus Dei	6:18

Messe Chorale en Sol mineur, avec orgue d'accompagnement et grand orgue
7. Introït	1:15
8. Kyrie		3:27
9. Gloria	5:30
10. Credo	7:38
11. Sanctus	2:00
12. Benedictus		2:14
13. Agnus Dei	4:31

Charlotte Müller-Perrier – soprano
Valérie Bonnard – alto
Christophe Einhorn – tenor
Christian Immler – bass
Marcelo Giannini – organ

Ensemble Instrumental de Lausanne
Michel Corboz - conductor

At first blush, it seems almost as improbable that Gounod should have written a Requiem as it does that Saint-Saëns should have written one. But Gounod did, and so did Saint-Saëns. On record, at least, both have fared poorly in both number and performance.

André Charlet, conductor and note author of the only other recording of Gounod’s Requiem I have (Claves 50-9326), paints a melodramatically macabre picture of the composer’s final hours: “On the morning of 15 October 1893, Gounod, although feeling fatigued, went to church with his faithful companion Henri Büsser. After lunch he sat down to put the finishing touches on the piano arrangement of the exquisite Benedictus. His wife found him with his head ‘held up by his pipe resting on the table,’ bent over the open score of the Requiem. Gounod never regained consciousness; he died three days later on the morning of 18 October with a crucifix in his hands.”

The notes to this new version of Gounod’s Requiem partially contradict Charlet’s notes, and the discrepancy is no small matter. Michel Daudin, who authored the current album’s notes, states that Gounod began work on the Requiem in 1889 in response to the devastating death of his five-year-old grandson, Maurice, and that he put the word “fin” to the foot of his manuscript on Palm Sunday, 1891. That’s two years before Charlet dates the incident of Gounod falling unconscious over his uncompleted score.

The two accounts do manage to jibe in the end, however, for Daudin notes that Gounod continued revising the Requiem up until the October 15, 1893, date reported by Charlet. But Daudin, with even more melodramatic flair than Charlet, adds his own embellishment to the story: “On October 15, Gounod was playing and singing passages of his Requiem at the piano when he had a fit of apoplexy. Though out of breath, he still tried to continue singing the duet from the Benedictus with his daughter, then he carefully put the manuscript away. In the afternoon he was felled by a stroke and lost consciousness. He never emerged from the ensuing coma and died in the small hours of 18 October.”

There’s nothing in Daudin’s telling of the story about Gounod’s wife finding him slumped unconscious over his manuscript, his head resting on his pipe. And there’s nothing in Charlet’s story about Gounod having a stroke while duetting with his daughter and rising up to put his manuscript away before slipping into a coma. So I’m inclined to believe that both stories are rather fanciful imaginings of actual events, and that we shall never know the exact details because, as I’m fond of saying, “CNN wasn’t there.”

Let me say straight away that if you have the Claves recording of the Requiem with Charlet, this new one duplicates it in using the same arrangement of the piece prepared by Henri Büsser for vocal soloists, mixed chorus, and an instrumental ensemble of string quartet, double bass, harp, and organ. Gounod’s original score called for full orchestra, but the composer made a number of his own arrangements for various combinations of singers and instruments. Büsser’s version, chosen by both Charlet and Corboz, seems by general agreement to be the best of the lot. Lest there be any confusion between the two recordings, however, I should also add that each pairs the Requiem with a different Mass. Charlet includes Gounod’s early Mass No. 2 in G Major, op. 1, of 1846; while Corboz gives us the Gregorian chant-based Choral Mass in G Minor, circa 1880, but of firm date uncertain.

Though Gounod is today linked almost exclusively to opera, thanks mainly to Roméo et Juliette and Faust , he was in fact a deeply religious man who, like Liszt, came very close to joining the priesthood and taking holy orders. He immersed himself in the study of 16th-century polyphony, with special attention paid to the masses of Palestrina; unusual perhaps for a 19th-century French composer, he came to revere the keyboard works of Bach, proclaiming the Well-Tempered Clavier “the law to pianoforte study … the unquestioned textbook of musical composition.” Who has not heard Gounod’s meltingly beautiful Ave Maria , a descant set over the C-Major Prelude from Book 1 of Bach’s WTC ? In fact, it wasn’t an opera but a Mass that brought Gounod his first public acclaim in 1855, the Messe Solennelle , aka Saint Cecilia Mass , and throughout his life, he continued to write music based on religious subjects.

Today, the extent of Gounod’s sacred works is little appreciated, their having been eclipsed by his operatic efforts. But this was not always the case. Saint-Saëns declared that Gounod would be remembered principally for his religious music; indeed, his masses, sacred oratorios, and motets far outnumber his operas. Daudin’s note even claims that there are three more Requiem masses in addition to the one on this CD.

Mostly avoiding the theatrical drama of sinners facing their Maker and souls condemned to the eternal fires of Hell—there’s no Berlioz or Verdi here—Gounod’s Requiem is often compared to that of the very popular, almost exactly contemporaneous setting by Fauré in its comforting and non-judgmental tone. No deity could fail to be moved, for example, by Gounod’s exquisitely beautiful Benedictus, which sets a duet for solo soprano and tenor against the chorus. But I’d have to say that in terms of musical style and vocabulary Gounod’s Requiem is closer to Saint-Saëns’s setting of the text, if you’re familiar with that score, than it is to Fauré’s.

Overall, Corboz is a bit slower than Charlet, and his soloists and choristers sound somewhat more devotional, or perhaps beatific is the word I’m looking for. Corboz also benefits from a more pitch-perfect vocal quartet and a better recording, made at La Ferme de Villefavard, a hall constructed in 2002 in the Limousin region of France. I had occasion to mention the exceptional acoustics of this venue in a review of a Brahms piano recital by Adam Laloum, also on Mirare.

Before rejecting Charlet in favor of Corboz out of hand, however, I would remind the reader that the coupling is not the same. Charlet leads a Mass in G Major for male chorus and organ; Corboz leads a Mass in G Minor for mixed chorus with organ accompaniment based on plainchants he heard at the Benedictine monastery in Solesmes. It’s an interesting work, if not a very even or consistent one, with some movements transporting one back to the 16th-century Flemish school of sacred polyphony, while other movements alternate between a 17th-century Italian madrigal style and an 18th-century Bach-like motet style. It’s as if Gounod was trying out all of the crayons in his box.

If you’re a collector of Requiem masses, you will find none more appealing than Gounod’s, and this wonderful new performance and recording of it is most enthusiastically recommended. ---Jerry Dubins, arkivmusic.com

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