Gluck: Orphée et Eurydice

Also available on Blu-ray Any production stands or falls by the performance of the lead role of Orphée. Here it is the mezzo Marianne Crebassa, a rising star. She is superb. She immediately impresses by her dignified bearing and natural air of authority. She can also convey grief by being very still. Her voice has a lovely tone, with just enough vibrato to give it warmth but not a trace of a wobble, and she has all the technique you could wish for. Her performance of Amour, viens rendre à mon âme is as dazzling as you could want, but, more importantly, her renderings of Quel nouveau ciel and J’ai perdu mon Eurydice are expressive and moving. Of the other two soloists, Hélène Guilmette as Eurydice carries off the only real soprano role in the work well, though one cannot help feeling that Gluck was not really interested in her. However, her importunings during the attempted return are finely done. Lea Desandre, the Amour, is a former ballet dancer and combines a striking appearance