From Amazon.com
The now-retired Régine Crespin is easily the greatest soprano voice to come out of France since World War II, notable not just for its body and luster but for such an effortless sense of line that you're never aware of the individual notes, only the overall musical idea they're meant to create. This was recorded a bit late in her career and some wobble is apparent. But her characterization of the words--so important in Ravel's precise animal portraits in
Histoires Naturelles--is peerless. Too bad that the Satie songs--in terms of quality--veer between serious endeavors and cabaret toss-offs. The disc is filled out by Crespin's performance of Beethoven's concert aria
Ah! Perfido, which illustrates why she was a formidable Tosca in her day.
--David Patrick Stearns
