Reissues

Delibes Lakmé

Erato 9029573486 (1971) 149:44 mins (2 discs) Alain Lombard conducts a properly Gallic Lakmé with Mady Mesplé as a winningly lyric heroine and for once the Bell Song is more than a showstopper. Then there’s Charles Burles’s Gerald – truly a tenor worth dying for. ★★★★

Lalo Le Roi d’ys

Erato 9029573485 (1957) 105:36 mins (2 discs)

Lalo could only have dreamed of this cast. The sound may be boxy and the chorus muffled but Janine Micheau is sweet toned as the nice girl and Rita Gorr supreme as the wicked Margared. ★★★★

Marais Sémélé

Glossa GCD 921631 (2007) 137:26 mins (2 discs) This may not be Marais’s masterpiece but it’s lovingly coaxed back to life by Hervé Niquet. And if there’s more drama in the music than the libretto, singers and players give it their all. ★★★★

Massenet Thaïs

Sony 88985397882 (1974) 141:35 mins (2 discs) Lushly upholstered at every turn this should have been a perfect Thaïs, but Anna Moffo in the title role has problems with pitch which mar a vintage recording. However José Carreras and Gabriel Bacquier are at the top of their game. ★★★