Véronique Gens: Visions
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Jules (Emile Frédéric) Massenet, César Franck, Henry Février, Georges Bizet, Camille Saint-Saëns, Félicien David, (Abraham) Louis Niedermeyer, (Jacques-François-)Fromental(-Elie) Halévy, (Louis Charles Bonaventure) Alfred Bruneau, Benjamin (Louis Paul) Godard
Genre:
Opera
Label: Alpha
Magazine Review Date: 07/2017
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 55
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: ALPHA279
Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
Geneviève, Movement: Seigneur ! Est-ce bien moi que vous avez choisie? |
(Louis Charles Bonaventure) Alfred Bruneau, Composer
(Louis Charles Bonaventure) Alfred Bruneau, Composer Hervé Niquet, Conductor Munich Radio Orchestra Véronique Gens, Soprano |
(Les) Béatitudes, Movement: Mater dolorosa |
César Franck, Composer
César Franck, Composer Hervé Niquet, Conductor Munich Radio Orchestra Véronique Gens, Soprano |
Stradella, Movement: Ah! Quel songe affreux! |
(Abraham) Louis Niedermeyer, Composer
(Abraham) Louis Niedermeyer, Composer Hervé Niquet, Conductor Munich Radio Orchestra Véronique Gens, Soprano |
Les Guelfes, Movement: Là-bas, vers le palais |
Benjamin (Louis Paul) Godard, Composer
Benjamin (Louis Paul) Godard, Composer Hervé Niquet, Conductor Munich Radio Orchestra Véronique Gens, Soprano |
Lalla Roukh, Movement: Sous le feuillage sombre |
Félicien David, Composer
Félicien David, Composer Hervé Niquet, Conductor Munich Radio Orchestra Véronique Gens, Soprano |
Gismonda, Movement: Dit-elle vrai? |
Henry Février, Composer
Henry Février, Composer Hervé Niquet, Conductor Munich Radio Orchestra Véronique Gens, Soprano |
Etienne Marcel, Movement: Ah! Laissez-moi, ma mère! |
Camille Saint-Saëns, Composer
Camille Saint-Saëns, Composer Hervé Niquet, Conductor Munich Radio Orchestra Véronique Gens, Soprano |
(La) Vierge, Movement: Le dernier sommeil de la Vierge (Last Sleep of the |
Jules (Emile Frédéric) Massenet, Composer
Hervé Niquet, Conductor Jules (Emile Frédéric) Massenet, Composer Munich Radio Orchestra Véronique Gens, Soprano |
(La) Vierge, Movement: L’extase de la Vierge |
Jules (Emile Frédéric) Massenet, Composer
Hervé Niquet, Conductor Jules (Emile Frédéric) Massenet, Composer Munich Radio Orchestra Véronique Gens, Soprano |
La Magicienne, Movement: Ce sentier nous conduit vers le couvent voisin |
(Jacques-François-)Fromental(-Elie) Halévy, Composer
(Jacques-François-)Fromental(-Elie) Halévy, Composer Hervé Niquet, Conductor Munich Radio Orchestra Véronique Gens, Soprano |
Clovis et Clotilde, Movement: Prière, ô doux souffle de l’ange |
Georges Bizet, Composer
Georges Bizet, Composer Hervé Niquet, Conductor Munich Radio Orchestra Véronique Gens, Soprano |
Rédemption, Movement: Le flot se lève |
César Franck, Composer
César Franck, Composer Hervé Niquet, Conductor Munich Radio Orchestra Véronique Gens, Soprano |
Author: Tim Ashley
Gens and Niquet throw themselves into all this with an engrossing mix of abandon and restraint. Gens’s trademark combination of purity of utterance and smoky tone speaks volumes in a repertory in which ‘religion [is] the palliative for carnal love’, as the booklet notes put it. Much of the time, she’s sparing and introverted, which means that the big emotional outpourings are all the more overwhelming when we reach them. In Bizet, Godard and the Virgin Mary’s aria from Les Béatitudes, it’s the long-breathed, hovering lines that send shivers down your spine. But real turmoil erupts when Léonor, the heroine of Stradella, wakes from a terrifying nightmare and senses she is being punished by an inscrutable God. And the way Gens’s voice surges in rapture through the Massenet is simply breathtaking. Niquet is just as committed, just as insightful, and the Munich Radio Orchestra’s contribution is first rate. At 56 minutes, the disc is on the short side, but any more would, I suspect, feel like overkill. I also found the emotional trajectory gains even greater force from reversing the playing order of the last two tracks, ending with Bizet rather than Franck. It’s a spectacular achievement, though: whatever you do, don’t hold back.
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