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Poulenc: La Voix Humaine, Etc / Jordan, Lott, Suisse Romande Orchestra

Poulenc / Lott / Orch De Suisse Romande / Jordan
Release Date: 07/10/2012 
Label:  Harmonia Mundi   Catalog #: 501759  
Composer:  Francis Poulenc
Performer:  Felicity Lott
Conductor:  Armin Jordan
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Suisse Romande Orchestra
Number of Discs: 1 
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Notes and Editorial Reviews

Felicity Lott has an excellent, well-earned reputation as an interpreter of Poulenc, so it was probably only a matter of time before she got around to recording these two splendid monodramas. She does well by both, but in La Voix humaine she faces the stiffest competition from hyper-neurotic Denise Duval's classic account on EMI. Lott offers superb French diction, and in the opera's desperate final moments she rises to paroxysms of despair every bit as effective as Duval's. It's only at such points as the description of her attempted suicide where Duval's ambiguous lightness of touch scores over Lott's less manipulative sincerity. With Lott there's no question that she's telling the truth. Duval keep us guessing. But let's not make too much Read more of this. Lott's is a very fine account, made more so by Jordan's sympathetic accompaniment and richly truthful recorded sound.

The same high performance values characterize the coupling. Lott recorded La Dame de Monte-Carlo in its piano version with Graham Johnson for Forlane, and she's every bit as successful in the work's orchestral guise. Arguably this role suits her better than La Voix humaine: Lott's experience as a Strauss heroine serves her very well in creating a portrait of upper crust insanity, and the protagonist here is, after all, deadly serious. In short, the piece has never been better done. If you're looking for a good modern recording of these two works, here it is.
--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com Read less

Works on This Recording

1. La voix humaine by Francis Poulenc
Performer:  Felicity Lott (Soprano)
Conductor:  Armin Jordan
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Suisse Romande Orchestra
Period: 20th Century 
Written: 1958; France 
2. La dame de Monte Carlo by Francis Poulenc
Performer:  Felicity Lott (Soprano)
Conductor:  Armin Jordan
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Suisse Romande Orchestra
Period: 20th Century 
Written: 1961; France 

Customer Reviews

Average Customer Review:  ( 1 Customer Review )
 Unusual opera, definitely a good one to buy December 18, 2012 By Weston Williams (Birmingham, AL) See All My Reviews "Poulenc is one of those composers that you are constantly impressed by despite his relative obscurity. This one-woman opera really shows off what he could do; the music is beautiful, but agonizing as it follows the emotion of a woman breaking down while on the telephone with a former lover that is going to be married to someone else in the morning. It takes an extraordinary performer to pull off such a role, and Felicity Lott does an exceptional job. As a bonus, we get a musical monologue about someone who goes to Monte Carlo and loses everything. his is also a good piece, but La Voix Humaine is clearly the centerpiece. This is a must-get for fans of Poulenc just as much as any who have never heard Poulenc before. A great opera and a great recording." Report Abuse
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