Donizetti's 'Salut à la France' from his opera La Fille du régiment was his first original opera written for the French and was intended to secure their approval.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Charpentier's opera Louise reflects his lifelong and highly emotional love of the city of Paris, which ultimately triumphs in the narrative.
Performer Biography
Kathleen Battle, the soprano on this album, opens her recital with 'Salut à la France', a piece that has attracted leading sopranos for generations.
Cultural Impact
Donizetti's 'Salut à la France' became a patriotic song in its own right during the Second Empire and was famously performed by Lily Pons waving a Croix de Lorraine flag during WWII.
Composition History
Berlioz's Béatrice et Bénédict, his last opera, was the only work on this album to be first performed outside France, in Baden-Baden in 1862.
Historical Context
Ophelia, from Ambroise Thomas's Hamlet, had haunted French imaginations since the 1827 visit of English players, notably Harriet Smithson, who captivated Berlioz.
Composition History
Offenbach's Belle Lurette was his last operetta, which he did not live to finish; it was completed by Delibes and staged posthumously in 1880.
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French Opera Arias
Marc, Alessandra: Arias - Verdi, G. / Catalani, A. / Cilea, F. / Puccini, G. / Charpentier, G. / Wagner, R.
Arias from Faust; La Bohème; Dinorah; Carmen; Turandot; Semiramide; Lakmé
