Livine Mertens: Airs et mélodies

Featuring

Livine Mertens
Maurice Bastin
Fernand Goeyens
Anne Talifert
Henri Marcotty
Chœur De L'Opéra National Du Théatre Royal De La Monnaie

La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra
Monnaie Children's Choir
François-Adrien Boïeldieu
Ambroise Thomas
Jules Massenet
Georges Bizet
Charles Gounod
Jacques Offenbach
Franz von Suppé
Richard Strauss
Engelbert Humperdinck
Maurice Ravel
Manuel de Falla
August de Boeck
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Ernest Moret
Louis Hillier
Ernest Guiraud
Georges Lauweryns

Did you know?

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Performer Biography

Livine Mertens's mother, Delphine Liévine Louise Dewinter, was a musician who had considered an operatic career but died prematurely in 1908.

Performer Biography

Livine Mertens, a mezzo-soprano, was born in Antwerp in 1898 and passed away in Brussels in 1968.

Performer Biography

Livine Mertens's performance in Ravel's L'enfant et les sortilèges was acclaimed by the composer himself, leading to further performances, including one conducted by Ravel.

Performer Biography

Livine Mertens was the only one accepted out of thirty candidates at her first audition for La Monnaie opera house in Brussels, but she felt unprepared and took more lessons before a second audition.

Performer Biography

Livine Mertens was an agent in the 'Athos' intelligence network during the German occupation of Belgium in WWII, supporting the clandestine newspaper La libre Belgique and helping Allied soldiers escape.

Recording & Production

Maurice Bastin, the conductor on this album, left a significant legacy of recordings on Columbia, including a six-disc selection from Mignon and numerous recordings with Livine Mertens.

Performer Biography

Livine Mertens was trained by Marius-Jean Decléry, a leading baritone at La Monnaie opera house in Brussels and a performer at Covent Garden and the Metropolitan Opera.