Ileana Cotrubas’s operatic career didn’t allow her enough time to develop what was clearly a deep affinity for song. At Salzburg in 1978 Britten’s cycle, On this Island, must have been imaginative programming. Although her English isn’t completely clear, Cotrubas makes a charming impression in this and, in French, for a group of Faure melodies culminating in an impassioned Fleur jetee. For a live recording the sound quality is good.'