Bidu Sayao: Opera Arias and Brazilian Folksongs
Bidú Sayão's silvery, impeccably tuned voice was small in size, but rich  in nuance, shading, and emotion. Her recording of the Villa-LobosBachiana  BrasileiraNo. 5 is justly famous, unmatched for lightness and sensuality.  Few have dashed off theJewel Songfrom Faust with similar insouciance or  imbued the last phrases of Manon's "Adieu , notre petite table" as  touchingly as Sayão does here. Her French song interpretations glow with charm  and style, and a previously unreleased snippet from Ravel'sL'enfant et les  sotilègesmakes one regret she never recorded the entire role, Sony's  transfers are more lifelike and three dimensional than previous issues. A  delectable disc.--Jed Distler