Poulenc: Dialogues des Carmélites
If there's one reason whyDialogues of the Carmeliteshad to wait more than 30 years for a new recording, it's because theoriginal oneon EMI left nothing to be desired. This one from the Opera de Lyon is just as good, which isn't as faint praise as it sounds. Conductor Kent Nagano projects a special rapport with Poulenc's orchestral palette, giving it a rhythmic vitality and focusing its sense of dramatic purpose, aided by state-of-the-art sound that reveals all sorts of orchestral subtleties. The vocal casting in this story of mass execution among Carmelite nuns feels more international than the original. Despite the presence of Gallic veterans such as Michel Senechal, François le Roux, and the still-commanding Rita Gorr (as the dying mother superior), there's not so much of the characteristic French nasality among familiar voices such as Catherine Dubosc (in the central character of Blanche), José van Dam (as her father), and Rachel Yakar (as the new mother superior). One can't lose with either recording.--David Patrick Stearns