Francis Poulenc's La Voix Humaine ("The Human Voice") is a one-woman opera, less than an hour long, about a woman on the phone with her boyfriend as they break up. Set to a text by Jean Cocteau, it puts the woman through strong mood swings. (Country music fans may wish to compare it to As Soon as I Hang Up the Phone, although there, the boyfriend is present to deliver the final blow.) Soprano Véronique Gens is best known for music from the 17th century up to Mozart, but it is easy to believe the claim in the publicity materials for this release that she had always wanted to record this work; its direct, conversational quality, interspersed with occasional freakouts, fits her manner beautifully. It might seem that those freakouts require a bit more intensity than Gens gives them here, but that is not really in the Cocteau spirit and certainly not in the Poulenc spirit. Gens receives sensitive support from the Orchestre National de Lille under Alexandre Bloch, who also ring down the curtain with a lithe performance of the joyous Sinfonietta. There are other strong performances of Poulenc's little opera, which ought to be much more frequently heard and would be ideal for university voice programs, but this one is instantly appealing and quite memorable, and it is no surprise that it made classical best-seller charts in early 2023. © James Manheim /TiVo

Backed by the Sun King despite a lukewarm audience reception at first, Lully's Atys (1676) went on to become one of the composer's most successful operas, with revivals at French court theaters as late as 1753. In modern times, however, it is a considerably rarer item due to the massive forces and time required. Christophe Rousset was in the pit as harpsichordist when conductor William Christie gave the first modern revival of the work in the late '80s. That experience marks this 2024 release, which made classical best-seller lists at the beginning of that year. That is not common for a hefty five-act Baroque opera, but even a bit of sampling will confirm why it happened: Rousset, from the keyboard, brings tremendous energy to the opera. He pushes the tempo in the numerous dances and entrance numbers, and the musicians of Les Talens Lyriques and the singers of the Choeur du Chambre de Namur, all of whom have worked closely with Rousset in the past, keep right up. The singers in the solo roles are all fine; haut-contre Reinoud Van Mechelen in the title role and Ambroisine Bré as the goddess Cybèle, who sets the tragic plot in motion, are standouts. The sound from the increasingly engineering-expert Château de Versailles label is exceptionally clear in complex textures, and the sensuous cover art (representing, it is true, not the Roman mythological figure of Atys but Hippomène and Atalante) is a bonus. In the end, this is Rousset's Atys, and that is a very good thing.© James Manheim /TiVo

Everyone thinks that they know Alceste by Lully, and yet this 1674 masterpiece has almost never been recorded in its entirety. Apart from the Malgoire version from 1975 with Bruce Brewer and Felicity Palmer, which is starting to become outdated, the real treat is a second versoin by the same Malgoire twenty years later with Jean-Philippe Lafont and Colette Alliot-Lugaz... And so we can only take our hats off to the new discographical opus from Christophe Rousset's Talens Lyriques, a lively and elegant reading which allows us to rediscover everything that was so innovative about this brilliant, effervescent Florentine, who would become a typical Versaillais, a courtesan and a wheeler-dealer. King Louis XIV - 36 years old, still with all his own teeth and a victorious war leader - could only feel flattered by the piece signed by Quinault: Alcide, who covets the beautiful Alceste (who has been promised to Admetus), is none other than Hercules himself - Louis XIV seeing himself in Hercules saving the beautiful Madame de Montespan from the clutches of her husband. To be sure, in this opera, Admetus/Hercules magnanimously hands Alceste, whom he has saved from hell, to her husband, while the poor Mr Montespan would end his career and his life exiled in Gascony... Honour intact. The Sun King loved the work, to the point that he commanded that rehearsals be held at Versailles. According to Madame de Sévigné, "The King declared that if he found himself in Paris when it was performed, he would go to see it every night." That being said, if Alceste suited the tastes of the court, it didn't do so well in Paris, where Lully's enemies, jealous of the extravagant privileges that he had won (the exclusive right to "have sung any whole piece in France, wither in French verse or in other languages, without the written permission of said Sir Lully, on pain of a ten thousand livre fine, and confiscation of theatres, equipment, decorations, costumes..."), heaped plot upon plot, while the gallant Mercury sang his little couplet: Dieu !  Le bel opéra ! Rien de plus pitoyable ! Cerbère y vient japper d'un aboi lamentable !  Oh ! Quelle musique de chien ! Oh ! Quelle musique du diable ! [Lord!/Fine opera!/There's nothing so pitiable!/Cerberus is yapping, his howls lamentable!/What doggish music!/What devilish music!]. Posterity would decide otherwise, and Rousset proved it triumphantly. © SM/Qobuz

Verve's Finest Hour collection of Nina Simone's work compiles 60 minutes of career highlights, including "Wild Is the Wind," "I Put a Spell on You," "Four Women," "I Loves You, Porgy," and "My Baby Just Cares for Me." Though it's by no means a definitive compilation of Simone's music, it does provide a welcome overview of her Verve years.© Heather Phares /TiVo

It doesn't always follow that serial international competition winners go on to make either recordings or careers that win over the “real world” critics. However Bomsori Kim has done so. Regarding the latter, her concert calendar is full of invitations to prestigious festivals and halls, concerto appearances with major orchestras and conductors, and chamber collaborations with other young names who are fast making names for themselves. As for recordings, there was her well-received 2017 debut album on Warner, imaginatively pairing Wieniawski's Violin Concerto No. 2 (Kim having carried off no less than eleven prizes at the 2016 Wieniawski Competition) with Shostakovich's Violin Concerto No. 1. Then came her strong 2019 debut on Deutsche Grammophon, partnering with pianist pianist Rafał Blechacz for Violin Sonatas by Fauré, Debussy and Szymanowski. So the stage was fully set for her orchestral debut on DG to be an impactful one. Now that it's here, “Violin on Stage” is certainly impactful in certain regards. A programme of works written for or inspired by opera or ballet, it further cements Kim's affinity for Poland's music and musicians, both by her partners being the NFM Wrocław Philharmonic under Giancarlo Guerrero, and by its being topped and tailed by more Wieniawski – culminating in his 17 and a half minute showpiece, the Fantasia on Themes from Gounod's “Faust” . The album equally cements the impression of her as an immensely lyrical violinist with a clean, sweetly singing sound which dances with balletic suppleness; indeed if any violinist's sound were a perfect fit for a programme evoking the worlds of ballet and opera then it's Kim's, and her playing confirms that in spadefuls, whether it's her elegantly fiery, twinkle-toed rendition of Waxman's Carmen-Fantasie, or the sweetly melancholic, singing romance she brings to Gluck's Dance of the Blessed Spirits, appearing here in a new transcription for violin and orchestra. Which brings me to the programme's final theme, of following in the footsteps of the likes of Heifetz and Milstein in championing the culture of virtuoso violin transcriptions of popular works – and the Pas de deux from Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker is also heard in a new transcription. So lots of positives. Yet overall, I can't help but feel that this programme hasn't quite done Kim justice. In attractively frothy, easy listening terms it's a winner, and there's nothing wrong in principle in skipping the main course to head straight for the Chantilly. It's also very welcome to have a violinist so clearly dedicated to championing Wieniawski's often-overlooked, highly virtuosic music. But ultimately she made a far stronger case for taking Wieniawski seriously on that aforementioned Warner debut. Plus, there's very little real emotional or stylistic contrast to be heard across this programme's succession of crowd-pleasing shorts. Or sense of surprise. Even massively-recorded pieces such as the Massenet Méditation will pack a punch when cleverly programmed, but here it merely blends in. Consequently, while “Violin on Stage” amply displays all Kim's elegance, charm and technique, I'm already crossing fingers that her next orchestral foray with DG might be more clearly reflective of her concert diary rather than of playlist culture, and give her the chance to properly display her interpretative and creative programming mettle. In the meantime though, this is at least very stylishly done. © Charlotte Gardner/Qobuz

The musical world owes a debt of gratitude to French conductor Christophe Rousset not only for the vital, exquisite performances he delivers with the ensembles Les Talens Lyriques and Choeur de Chambre de Namur, but for his work in bringing to light neglected masterpieces of Baroque opera. Lully's Bellérophon, premiered in 1679, was a huge success in its time, with an initial run of nine months. Part of its popularity was doubtless due to the parallels that could be drawn between its plot and certain recent exploits of Louis XV, but even the earliest critics recognized the score's uniqueness and exceptional quality within Lully's oeuvre, so it's perhaps surprising that it has never been recorded before. The distinctiveness of the music was likely a result at least in part of the fact that Lully's preferred librettist Philippe Quinault was out of favor at the court of Louis XV at the time, so the composer turned to Thomas Corneille for the libretto, and Corneille's literary and dramatic styles were so different from Quinault's that Lully was nudged out of his comfort zone and had to develop new solutions to questions of structure and the marrying of music to text. It is the first opera for which Lully composed fully accompanied recitatives, and that alone gives it a textural richness that surpasses his earlier works. The composer also allows soloists to sing together, something that was still a rarity in Baroque opera. There are several duets and larger ensembles; the love duet, "Que tout parle à l'envie de notre amour extreme!," is a ravishing expression of passion and happiness, as rhapsodic as anything in 19th century Italian opera. The level of musical inventiveness throughout is exceptional even for Lully; the expressiveness of the recitatives, the charm of the instrumental interludes, the originality of the choruses, and the limpid loveliness of the airs make this an opera that demands attention. Rousset and his forces give an outstanding performance that's exuberantly spirited, musically polished, rhythmically springy, and charged with dramatic urgency. The soloists are consistently of the highest order. Cyril Auvity brings a large, virile, passionate tenor to the title role and Céline Scheen is warmly lyrical as his lover Philonoë. Ingrid Perruche is fiercely powerful as the villain, Stéenobée, and Jean Teitgen is a secure, authoritative Apollo. Soloists, chorus, and orchestra are fluent in the subtle inflections of French middle Baroque ornamentation. The sound of the live recording is very fine, with a clean, immediate, realistic ambience. This is a release that fans of Baroque opera will not want to miss. Highly recommended. © TiVo

Verve's Finest Hour collection of Nina Simone's work compiles 60 minutes of career highlights, including "Wild Is the Wind," "I Put a Spell on You," "Four Women," "I Loves You, Porgy," and "My Baby Just Cares for Me." Though it's by no means a definitive compilation of Simone's music, it does provide a welcome overview of her Verve years.© Heather Phares /TiVo

Download not available

Download not available

Praised for his meticulous fidelity to the composer's intentions, as well as for his rich tonal palette and the warmth of his expressions, Jean-Efflam Bavouzet has won many admirers for his five albums of the complete solo piano music of Claude Debussy. These recordings were produced by Chandos between 2007 and 2009, and they have now been gathered into a handsome box set; each disc is presented with its own cardboard sleeve and the original liner notes that accompanied each release. The roster of artists who have recorded Debussy's keyboard music is a long and distinguished one, though Bavouzet is easily ranked in the upper echelons, equal in stature among such luminaries as Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, Krystian Zimerman, Maurizio Pollini, Angela Hewitt, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, and Pascal Rogé. Experienced listeners will already have favorite recordings of the Préludes, Images, Estampes, and Études, as well as the perennially popular Suite bergamasque, Children's Corner, and other picturesque pieces. However, many will be won over by the consistency of Bavouzet's playing, and newcomers will find that his disciplined yet gorgeous readings are a great way to begin appreciating these charming classics. Chandos provides excellent sound that gives the piano a clear presence yet takes nothing away from Bavouzet's atmospheric colors or the radiant acoustics. Highly recommended.© TiVo

Both jazz and classical music are often better on stage than in the studio, and Nina Simone bridged the gap between both of these art forms. One of Nina Simone's best albums, It Is Finished, is a live recording. And Montreux, here, a compilation of her previously-unpublished performances at the famous jazz festival, ranks alongside that earlier work in terms of quality. In it we hear segments from five concerts given on the shores of Lake Geneva, in 1968, 1976, 1981, 1987 and 1990, all of which enjoy excellent sound quality. 1968 saw the second outing of the festival and the beginning of a long relationship between Nina Simone and Montreux. This concert was previously only available on rare and expensive pressings, and this release allows us to hear Simone's great works from those days (from I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free to Backlash Blues or See-Line Woman plus her cover of Ne me quitte pas) performed in a workmanlike but relaxed style. It was later, and most notably in 1976, that her music reached extremes, moving between a fresh breeze and a cathartic rampage. High priestess of soul, Nina Simone became a shaman, an enchantress who did what she wanted with music and audiences. From intimate ballads to trancelike Afro-Jazz, Simone reigns supreme, totally in command of her material. The tracks from 1990 show an artist tested by life's trials, with quite a different voice. She had lost confidence and power, but this fragility made her even more affecting. © Stéphane Deschamps / Qobuz