Gluck: Orphee Et Eurydice / Simoneau, Danco, Alair

Leopold Simoneau, Pierrette Alaire, Suzanne Danco, Hans Rosbaud

It is really quite extraordinary that after 54 years this mono recording remains by far the most attractive and moving account of Gluck's masterpiece if you prefer it in French and the eponymous role of Orphée to be sung by a tenor. The sound is admirably clear even if the voices are rather too forward in relation to the orchestra and purists might object to the omission of the bravura aria "L'espoir renaît" which Gluck reluctantly composed to oblige his tenor primo uomo Legros for the Paris performances of 1774, but it is really rather incongruous in the context of the tale as a whole and no great loss.

Price: $35.98