With her small, neat, exact voice and clear diction, Jodie Devos is well suited to such material, which she articulates clearly, getting around the notes with considerable fluency – if with a certain selfconsciousness. There’s an appealing tang to the tone and an ability to fine the tone down where necessary.

Devos is again wonderful. Her warm voice comes flying out of the grooves, and one can sit back and just revel in it. The orchestra is idiomatically led by Pierre Bleuse. Alpha provides a warm and balanced acoustic and, with such rare material, it most gratefully provides useful notes, texts, and translations. Do not hesitate: Go out and buy!

Jodie Devos is the right candidate to showcase this kind of repertoire...there is plenty of characterization amid the swirl of vocal acrobatics and decorations.

The Belgian soprano's small but perfectly-formed voice really does glitter in this constellation of forgotten French operatic gems - and there's more than enough light and shade in terms of both timbre and repertoire to ensure that the dazzle never becomes relentless. I loved Elizabeth I's lament over a drunken Shakespeare from Thomas's Le songe d'une nuit d'été and the rousing call-to-arms from Halévy's Jaguarita l'Indienne, and there's a lovely opportunity to hear Auber's Manon emerge from the shadows of Massenet and Puccini…

No strain, no squawking, just a lively pirouetting voice hitting an impossible bull’s-eye: it’s a spine-tingling sensation...whatever the tone, whatever the French opera, Devos remains a compelling performer.