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You’ve got to be a little provocative to travel to Bologna, home to one of the most beautiful operas in the world, to record excerpts of famous Italian operas in French! This challenge didn’t faze Franco-Swiss tenor Benjamin Bernheim (whose incredible voice does justice to everything he sings) nor his accomplice, composer and conductor Frédéric Chaslin.From Donizetti to Puccini, more than a century of Italian lyrical music is on display on the famous Boulevard des Italiens in Paris, with the Opéra-Comique on one side and the Opéra Garnier on the other. This Italian presence serves as a reminder that the French capital was at the heart of opera throughout the 19th century.With the help of the Palazzetto Bru Zane – Centre de musique romantique française, Benjamin Bernheim has concocted a captivating programme, mixing famous works with lesser-known gems, such as excerpts from Donizetti’s Dom Sébastien, Verdi’s Jerusalem, Cherubini’s Ali Baba and Mascagni’s Amica, alongside Don Carlos, Madame Butterfly and Tosca. However, it’s Benjamin Bernheim’s stunning vocals that really shine, with his perfect diction and bright tone giving each piece a beautiful warmth. The two duets that feature baritone Florian Semprey are incredible, as is the warm and enthusiastic conducting of Frédéric Chaslin. © François Hudry/Qobuz

Bertrand de Billy's live 2011 performance of Dialogues des Carmélites at Theater an der Wien is notable for the vigor of his conducting and his dramatic highlighting of the score's contrasts, which have rarely sounded so stark and tension-filled. He doesn't stint on conveying the music's generous lushness, in scenes such as the first, which is characterized by the composer's typically suave Gallic urbanity in its depiction of Blanche's aristocratic family. What comes as a revelation, though, are the outbursts of Stravinskian ruggedness in the orchestration and harmonies that de Billy does nothing to soften, which are especially evident in the orchestral interludes between scenes. His rhythmic control is crisp and precise, and points up the score's evocations of Baroque French opera, but he also gives the music plenty of room to breathe. The ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien delivers the drama of de Billy's vision with urgency and plays the more lyrical sections with limpid, sumptuous tone. The vocal casting is not consistently persuasive. Sally Matthews' voice is large and her vibrato is more pronounced than that of the rest of the cast, making her Blanche a far-from-typical characterization. The fact that her voice is so powerful in relation to the voices of the other singers makes for an imbalance that's at odds with the premise that Blanche is the opera's most timorous and tentative character. In a more vocally distinguished ensemble she could be highly effective because her characterization is intensely personal and deeply felt. Here, though, the other singers simply pale in comparison. The roles of the other nuns are sung without much distinctiveness, except for Hendrickje van Kerckhove's warm, luminous Sister Constance. Yann Beuron is strong and sympathetic as Blanche's brother, Le Chevalier de la Force. The sound is generally full, detailed, and clean, but the theatrical realism of the live performance doesn't compensate for the variability of balance and volume as the singers move around the stage. The excellent orchestral playing and fine choral singing by the Arnold Schoenberg Chor, and especially de Billy's assured, insightful conducting make this a recording that anyone who loves the opera will want to hear, but it would not make the best introduction for newcomers. © TiVo

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As his recording career stretched over about 35 years and more than 150 albums, it would be impossible for any Franco compilation, even a two-CD one, to give but a taste of his overall work. If you're willing to accept the limitations inherent in a two-CD set for such a prolific artist, however, Francophonic does a pretty good job of both assembling highlights from his discs and providing some sort of outline to his musical evolution. It samples from numerous eras over the course of its 28 tracks, spanning the years 1953-1980 and lasting a good two and a half hours. In some ways it reflects the changes in African popular music as a whole during this period. It almost sounds a little like a light fusion of Latin and jazz influences in its early rhumba-like tunes, growing toward a more steadily rhythmic and ebullient Zairian sound by the end of the '60s, and stretching out into far longer groove-oriented pieces on the '70s recordings that take up most of disc two. It's important to remember, however, that guitarist-songwriter Franco was not simply following trends, but was among the most prominent initiators of these developments in African music. The cluster of recordings from the early '70s on this set seem to be the ones in which he both cements his musical vision and lays down some of his best tracks, particularly in the more haunting tunes that include some call and response vocals, and the tougher outings that contain some of his most forceful guitar work. The 48-page booklet presents an historical overview of his life and music (in both English and French), though some might find it frustrating that more thorough discographical information beyond the original years of release isn't included. It can be a little confusing for Franco newcomers in particular to get a handle on the personnel he used as well, though to be fair to the compilers, discographical data is hardly an easy thing to acquire for African recordings of this vintage, and the booklet does list years of service for many of the singers and musicians with whom Franco played in his bands.© Richie Unterberger /TiVo

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In the 18th century, it was common for theatre audiences around Europe to shudder in their seats. Performances at the time would often put an exotic twist on the not-so-distant past, forcing viewers to once again confront the terror of the Battle of Vienna, which ended the Turk’s second siege of the Austrian city. The Ottoman threat had now receded: people could now enjoy a coffee and croissant in a café, and the much-loved Viennese pastries were born. Tales of harems, Christian slaves and the orient, such as One Thousand and One Nights, frightened, intrigued and amazed the population. Not to be outdone, composers made sure to put their mark on this growing craze. “Turqueries” were fashionable in both operas and instrumental music, and orientalism allowed for all kinds of fantasies. This wave of exoticism became especially popular in Paris, particularly in its Opéra-Comique, one of the oldest theatres in France.Soprano Florie Valiquette, from Quebec, offers us a brilliant, moving and light take on this repertoire. Her grace, coupled with her skilful versatility, means she successfully tackles a diverse range of works. Created in 2019 for the Fantômes de Versailles, the Orchestre de l’Opéra Royal regularly plays in the pit of the recently restored theatre at Versailles. This building is also used for recordings performed under the label Château de Versailles Spectacles, now almost exclusively available on Qobuz, and there’s so many great projects in the pipeline!Built around excerpts from Grétry’s La Caravane du Caire, which enjoyed great success following its premiere in 1783, the programme also includes excerpts from Gluck’s Pèlerins de la Mecque and Mozart’s L’Enlèvement au sérail, sung in French. Complemented by works by Philidor, Monsigny and Gibert, the “gallant turqueries” presented here paint a fairly accurate picture of the type of performances enjoyed by French society in the second half of the Age of Enlightenment, just a few years before the great upheaval of the French Revolution. © François Hudry/Qobuz

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