We hear that the ever-elegant French soprano Véronique Gens will make her solo debut on the Alpha label in the autumn with a collection of mélodies - only her second recital-disc of this repertoire with piano, though her accounts of French orchestral songs have been praised from the roof-tops.
In partnership with Susan Manoff, she will explore the songs of Duparc, Hahn and Chausson; the pair's recital of this music at the Wigmore Hall a couple of years ago was described as 'inspired...quite divine' (Opera Today) and 'effortlessly stylish and wonderfully polished' (The Guardian).
La chanson bien douce is due out on Alpha in October.
Recent and related recordings from Véronique Gens
(You can browse her complete discography here.)
As the hero's (justifably, in this version!) jealous wife, Gens very nearly steals the show here, winning praise for her 'passionate intensity' (The Guardian) and 'commanding assumption' (Opera Magazine).
Available format: Download & Streaming (up to 48 kHz, 24 bit)
Gens's second recording of Berlioz's great song-cycle is if anything even finer than her 2001 account on Virgin, and comes with the added bonus of yet another 'Herminie' in the shape of Berlioz's Prix de Rome tour de force.
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 44.1 kHz, 24 bit)
