V+ªronique Gens, soprano   Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire   John Axelrod, conductor   Ondine is pleased to announce a new release by famous soprano V+ªronique Gens, who performs Herminie and Les Nuits d'+ªt+ª by Hector Berlioz and Sh+ªh+ªrazade by Maurice Ravel with the Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire under the baton of its music director John Axelrod.   V+ªronique Gens is internationally recognized as one of the greatest sopranos. She has made a big career with baroque repertoire and Mozart, but French repertoire, especially Berlioz and Ravel, are "as natural to her as the air that she breathes". Her French remains a model of immaculate diction, fluid and luminous.   Having a very special relationship to Berlioz's Les Nuits d'+ªt+ª and Herminie, V+ªronique Gens combines them on this release with Sh+ªh+ªrazade by Ravel, which conjures up a totally different world. On this CD Herminie is released the first time with V+ªronique Gens.   The charismatic conductor John Axelrod is music director of the Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire since 2009, following the philosophy of being "open to the world" by extraordinarily diverse repertoire choices and innovative programming. Also internationally he is a sought after conductor both for concerts and opera productions.   Founded in 1971, the Orchestra National des Pays de la Loire, a "national" orchestra since 1996, is based in two cities, Angers and Nantes. Today about 200 concerts attract yearly 200,000 listeners, among them more than 10,000 subscribers.   Biographies   A prominent Baroque performer in recent years, soprano V+ªronique Gens has also become recognized as one of the world's finest Mozart singers.   She performed Don Giovanni in Barcelona, Madrid, Glyndebourne, Munich and Vienna, La clemenza di Tito in Dresden and Barcelona, Cos+¬ fan tutte in Tokyo and Baden-Baden, Cavalli's La Calisto in Munich, Paris and London, Pell+ªas et M+ªlisande at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Gluck's Alceste in Aix-en-Provence, La finta giardiniera at the Salzburg Festival, Martin y Soler's Il burbero di buon cuore at the Teatro Real Madrid, Rameau's Castor et Pollux at the De Nederlandse Opera Amsterdam, Iphig+ªnie en Aulide at the Th+ª+¢tre Royal de la Monnaie and in Amsterdam, Iphig+ªnie en Tauride at the Theater an der Wien, Niobe in London and Luxemburg, La veuve joyeuse in Lyon (available on DVD), Alice in Falstaff at the Baden-Baden Festival and in Nantes, Eva in a new production of Die Meistersinger von N++rnberg at the Liceu in Barcelona and others.   Her future projects include Don Giovanni in Vienna, London and Paris, Cos+¬ fan tutte in Baden-Baden, Iphig+ªnie en Aulide in Amsterdam, Il burbero di buon cuore in Barcelona, Alceste and Cos+¬ fan tutte in Vienna, Falstaff in Munich, La clemenza di Tito in Brussels and Vienna, Dialogues des carm+ªlites at the Th+ª+¢tre des Champs-Elys+ªes, Der Freisch++tz at Staatsoper Berlin, Iphig+ªnie en Tauride at the Theater an der Wien and numerous concerts and recitals.   In 2006, V+ªronique Gens was nominated "Chevalier" by "L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres", and she has just been appointed "Chevalier" by the renowned "L+ªgion d'honneur" in January 2011.