Released nine years after their split, Flammes is a greatest-hits package from the electronic pop duo described as France's answer to the Eurythmics, Niagara. The 2002 18-track collection features material from their four studio albums, including 1985 debut single "Tchiki Boum," European hits "Pendant Que Les Champs Brulent" and "J'ai Vu," and their swan song, "Le Minotaure."© Jon O'Brien /TiVo

L'amour de loin (2000) is Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho's first opera, but the mastery of its memorably dramatic music demonstrates incontrovertibly that she is a born opera composer. The opera has had numerous international productions and in 2003 it received the Grawemeyer Award, the most prestigious international award for composition. Saariaho was inspired to write an opera after seeing the 1992 Salzburg Festival production of Messiaen's Saint François d'Assise, so it is not surprising that her first effort would be more concerned with introspection than with conventionally operatic drama. The French libretto, by Armin Maalouf, deals with twelfth century troubadour Jaufre Rudel, and the legend of his love for the Countess of Tripoli. Separated by thousands of miles, the two had an erotically charged but unconsummated relationship, which in the opera is sustained by messages carried between them by a Pilgrim. The poet finally makes the voyage to meet his love, only to die in her arms. For a work on such an intimate subject with such an understated dramatic profile, L'amour de loin feels like a very big opera. Saariaho is dealing with large emotions, and what it lacks in outward theatricality is more than made up for in the vividness and depth with which it probes the psychology of its characters. The orchestra and chorus are vehicles for making audible the lovers' states of mind, which are frequently roiling with conflict and anxiety, and the music is consequently turbulent, powerful, and often very loud. (It's closer in tone to Tristan and Isolde than to Pelléas et Mélisande, two tragedies of thwarted love that it resembles in some ways.) Saariaho's counterintuitive take on Maalouf's intensely inward libretto works brilliantly. The ravishing orchestral palette, deft blend of Medieval and contemporary musical traditions, and gorgeous choral and vocal writing make this is a work that seems destined to endure. Saariaho's text setting is exceptionally graceful and limber, and it's performed beautifully by the superlative singers on this recording. Mezzo-soprano Marie-Anne Todorovitch's shapely vocal interpretation invests the Pilgrim with so much nuanced individuality that the listener cannot help being drawn to the character. Her supple, infinitely colorful voice is responsive to the most subtle dramatic cues in the text and music; this is the kind of fully realized performance that opera composers dream of. The same can be said for soprano Ekaterina Lekhina and baritone Daniel Belcher as the lovers; the startling purity and focus of their voices, and the intensity and subtlety with which they inhabit their roles, make them absolutely compelling, both musically and dramatically. Kent Nagano leads Rundfunkchor Berlin and Deutsches Symphonie-Orchestra Berlin in a luminous reading of the richly variegated score. Harmonia Mundi's sound is pure, full, and warmly atmospheric. This outstanding performance of L'amour de loin should be of strong interest not only to fans of contemporary opera, but of new music in general, and to lovers of bel canto singing. Highly recommended. © TiVo

French alternative rocker Damien Saez does the impossible on Jours Étranges: he creates a distinct and powerful voice out of the post-grunge rock sound. But unlike Creed and Bush and their ilk, Saez changes all the rules around and refuses to rehash ideas that were old to begin with. For example, the emotive singer and some noisy guitar are paired with a funky beat and dramatic keyboards, resulting in the grand and intense "Soleil 2000." The thickest sludge anthems are ended with minute-long piano codas. The songs are filled with beeps, noises, and Edge-like guitar parts without one hint of useless irony or angst-driven cynicism. Taking the sounds of the '90s and updating them for the next decade, Saez made an excellent album that deserves more credit. This should be a mandatory listen for every faux grunge band who littered the radio while Saez toiled in obscurity due to the notion that language is too big of a wall for American music fans to climb.© Bradley Torreano /TiVo

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Helena's Azul is wonderfully laid-back bossa nova with subtle electronic touches and inventive arrangements. It sounds like a companion album to Bebel Gilberto's modern bossa nova classic Tanto Tempo. Helena's dusky and unaffected voice floats over the shuffling tempos like the voice of a Brazilian angel. The fact that she is French (as are all the musicians, including ace French producer Bertrand Burgalat) makes the record even more impressive. The songs are all quite nice and perfectly evoke and inspire a quiet late-night mood (Phillipe Katerine wrote the music, Helena the words). With any justice this record will be as hyped and as popular as the Gilberto record. It is just as good, if not better. © Tim Sendra /TiVo

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Produced by L'Aura Marciano, Le Droit de Rêver is the debut album from Israeli-born singer/songwriter, actress, and dancer Tal, who has been described as France's answer to Rihanna. Fusing soul, pop, R&B, and dancehall, its 14 messages of peace and hope include the single "On Avance" and collaborations with Sean Paul ("Waya Waya") and Marseilles rapper L'Algérino ("Le Sens de la Vie").© Jon O'Brien /TiVo