Search - Francis Poulenc, Armin Jordan, Felicity Lott :: Poulenc - La Voix humaine · La Dame de Monte-Carlo / Felicity Lott · Suisse Romande · Jordan

They all agree: magnifique!

12/29/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Surreally no doubt, thanks to some intellectual Swiss friends, the very first opera I knew was Poulenc's surreal Les Mamelles de Tiresias, in Cluytens' great 50s recording starring Denise Duval. As a teenager learning French, I devoured it and so, to this day, have been able to roll off pat the French terms for a combine harvester, an incubator or a fortune-teller. What I didn't know at the time but learned later was Denise Duval's very special status as a performer of Poulenc's works: the composer's own choice, a woman with great acting skills, beauty, glamour, charm, humour, charisma... and French.Any singer, especially a non-French one, who takes on Poulenc takes on, willingly or not, the Duval legend and will face stern scrutiny in France, where the "exception culturelle" is fairly fiercely guarded - and Duval's recordings of Poulenc remain benchmarks. Although it was clear to me that Dame Felicity Lott's new recording was first rate, I was still surprised when a French friend told me he thought it surpassed Denise Duval; and even more surprised to find the same opinion in the French press. Opinion here and in the UK seems indeed to be unanimous: "magnifique," as the reviewer in French magazine Opera International felt he had to say, twice. The disc immediately received a "Choc" award from Le Monde de la Musique (not a chocolate medal: pronounce it "shock") and a "10" from Repertoire.UK magazine Opera Now, wondering "whether she has done anything finer on disc," congratulates Felicity Lott for "persuading us that she is actually French." The amazing thing is that she has succeeded in persuading the French themselves, confirming, with this CD, her pre-eminence in French song: she is, it seems, the leading French soprano of the day.Both works, typical both of Cocteau and of Poulenc in the depiction of genteel tragedy, a nostalgia far more bitter than sweet with the sharp shock of unsuspected private pain behind the chic facade, are well suited to Felicity Lott's own stage persona, in line with her performances of Rosenkavalier and Capriccio - even if, like Duval, when necessary she can carry off to perfection the comic idiom, as her recent Belle Helene shows. And as ever - especially where French works are concerned, not just a detail - the pronunciation and diction are perfect, making this, incidentally, a perfect CD for anyone who loves or is learning French today, as I did thanks in part to Denise Duval some 30 years ago. But in any case, an essential disc for anyone interested in Poulenc, Cocteau, French song or opera. La Dame de Monte Carlo, just 7 minutes long, is, by the way, a gem."