Auber: Les Diamants De La Couronne

The only recording of the French Operatic gem.
The opera Les Diamants de la Couronne by D.F.E. Auber has lots of dialogue, and for that I'm glad a libretto is included. The singing is quite good. Christophe Einhorn acquits himself well in the role of Don Henrique. He has a pleasant lyric tenor, and his approach to higher tessitura is clean and clear, with no pushing for effect. Ghyslaine Raphanel, as Catarina, pushes for more sound at the beginning, but she quite successfully warms up after that, and she also sings her role well. Her singing of the Bolero in act two gives new meaning to the word "coloratura". Armand Arapian, Rebolledo, is not as prominent here as in the recording of Le Cheval de Bronze, also by Auber. But he and the rest of the cast deliver the dialogue and music with lots of character.