The French repertoire on Disc 2 begins and ends with Offenbach--selections from her complete recordings of Tales of Hoffmann from the Cambreling-led super-complete version, and La Belle Hélène with Plasson at the helm. In the latter she gets a chance to show her too-rarely heard sense of humor. In Hoffmann, there's a somewhat fussy Barcarolle duet and snippets from Giulietta's other scenes sung with flair for the style. Sandwiched between the Offenbachs we get a ravishing "Premiers transports" from Berlioz's Roméo et Juliette, and a Ravel set that includes her fabulous Chanson madécasses, complete with a chilling version of "Aoua! Aoua!" and a sinuous, sensuous "Il est doux de sa coucher" marred only the engineers' backward placement of the excellent accompanying trio. Also not to be overlooked is Norman's Poulenc set, made long before the onset of prima donna-hood, featuring an idiomatic "Tu vois le feu du soir" and delectable performances of the miniature gems of La Fraicheur et le feu. She sings the title song in a true contralto, one of many reminders of her extraordinary vocal range. Unless you already have these items, this collection is not to be missed.