MASSENET: OPERAS (16 CDS)

During the Belle Époque, Jules Massenet rose to become France’s leading composer of opera, as notable for his acute dramatic sense as for the refined sensuality of his music. Encompassing three decades of his career, and settings as diverse as Biblical Judea and the Paris of Massenet’s time, the seven operas in this box range from the enduringly popular Manon and Werther through works occasionally revived for star singers (Thaïs and Don Quichotte) to three fascinating rarities (Hérodiade, Le Jongleur de Notre Dame and Sapho). They represent nearly 40 years of recording history and feature a host of celebrated singers and conductors from France and around the world.

Massenet: Werther
Nicolai Gedda (Werther), Victoria de los Ángeles (Charlotte), Mady Mesplé (Sophie), Roger Soyer (Albert), Jean-Christophe Benoit (Le Balli), Christos Grigoriou (Johann), André Mallabrera (Schmidt)
L'ORTF Children's Chorus, Orchestre de Paris
Georges Prêtre

Massenet: Manon
Victoria de los Ángeles (Manon), Liliane Berton (Poussette), Raymonde Notti (Javotte), Marthe Serres (Rosette), Henri Legay (Le Chevalier Des Grieux), Michel Dens (Lescaux), Jean Borthayre (Le Compte des Grieux), René Hérent (Guillot de Morfontaine), Jean Vieuille (De Brétigny)
L'Opéra-Comique de Paris
Pierre Monteux

Massenet: Thaïs
Beverly Sills (Thaïs), Sherrill Milnes (Athanaël), Nicolai Gedda (Nicias), Richard Van Allan (Palémon), Anne-Marie Connors (Crobyle), Ann Murray (Myrtale), Patricia Kern (Albine), Norma Burrowes (La Charmeuse), Brian Ethridge (Servant)
John Alldis Choir, New Philharmonia Orchestra
Lorin Maazel

Massenet: Don Quichotte
José van Dam (Don Quichotte), Alain Fondary (Sancho Panza), Teresa Berganza (Dulcinée), Isabelle Vernet (Pedro), Marie-Ange Todorovitch (Garcias), Christian Papis (Rodriguez), Nicolas Rivenq (Juan)
Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse
Michel Plasson

Massenet: Le Jongleur de Notre-Dame
Alain Vanzo (Jean), Jules Bastin (Boniface), Marc Vento (Le Prieur), Jean-Marie Frémeau (Un moine peintre), Tibère Raffalli (Un moine poete), Michel Carey (Un moine musicien), Jean-Jacques Doumène (Un moine sculpteur), Antoinette Rossi (Angel 1), Amanda Cassini (Angel 2)
L'Opéra de Monte-Carlo
Roger Boutry

Massenet: Sapho
Renée Doria (Fanny Legrand), Ginès Sirera (Jean Gaussin), Gisèle Ory (Divonne), Adrien Legros (Césaire), Elya Waisman (Irène), Gamboa René (Caoudal), Christian Baudéan (La Borderie), Jean-Jacques Doumène (Le Patron)
Chorale Stéphane Caillat, Orchestre Symphonique de la Garde Républicaine
Roger Boutry

Massenet: Hérodiade
Cheryl Studer (Salomé), Nadine Denize (Hérodiade), Ben Heppner (Jean), Thomas Hampson (Hérode), José van Dam (Phanuel), Marcel Vanaud (Vitellius), Jean-Philippe Courtis (Le Grand Prêtre), Martine Olmeda (Une jeune Babylonienne), Jean-Paul Fouchécourt (Une voix)
Capitole de Toulouse
Michel Plasson