Sunday 30 May 2010

Various Composers - French Soprano Opera Arias [Pollet/Diederich-Orchestre Philharmonique De Montpellier]

I can't find much information about Francoise Pollet, apart from she's French, and is now 60.

This is a lovely recital, every time i play it i really enjoy it, one of the good things about this disc is the fact it has some less known arias on it, when you dig deeper beyond the obvious, you find some treasureable arias in the French repertoire.

The arias i found most enlightening were 2, 4-5, & 7-10, with track 9, the Verdi aria from Don Carlos 'Toi qui sais le neant des choses de ce monde', sung by Elizabeth to be the most satisfying and enlightening.

It begins with a long orchestral introduction [about two and a half minutes], starting with soft horns that grow louder into full brass [0:00-0:35], the same horns/brass return, but now are accompanied by the violins [0:59+], a lovely start to the Aria, which sets the scene so well, Elizabeth sings of all nature in the garden might sing of her love for Don Carlos [6:49-7:47],

Beaux jardins espagnols [Fine Spanish gardens]
a l'heure pale et sombre [now pale and dark]
Si Carlos doit encore [If Carlos once again]
s'arreter sous votre ombre [were to stop in your shade]
Que vos fleurs [May all your flowers]
vos gazons, vos fontaines [lawns, and fountains]
Chantent vos souvenirs [Sing your memories]
avec toutes leurs voix [with all their voices]

There's a climax at Chantent [Sing], very powerful, the Aria is nice and varied, lots of different things to enjoy.

Here's Kiri Te Kanawa singing this Aria on YouTube.