Favé il le Fallait

Mula is blessed with superb poise and wonderful assurance together with a tremendous ability to emotionally affect the listener.
Lyric-coloratura soprano Inva Mula has released an alluring recital of French and Italian arias for the Virgin Classics label. ‘Courtesan’ might be a more appropriate title for the disc as by my reckoning four of the heroine roles operate in that profession.
– Michael Cookson, MusicWeb International

Après le disque de diamant de l’album Vieillir avec toi composé par Calogero et un détour par Cuba avec Habana, l’album Le présent d’abord est un nouveau virage spectaculaire comme Florent Pagny les aime depuis toujours – « Partir dans de nouvelles aventures, c’est ma spécialité », avoue-t-il. Le présent d’abord mêle les générations et les univers : Florent Pagny a confié la réalisation de son album à Dany Synthé (Sapés comme jamais de Maître Gims, les tubes de MHD, Black M…). Ce mélange de générations et de cultures musicales est le prototype de cet album, pour lequel Florent Pagny chante des titres de Maître Gims, Slimane, Lionel Florence, Nazim (Amir, Claudio Capéo, Kendji Girac, Alma…), Antoine Essertier (Vianney, Daran, June The Girl…) et de toute une génération de jeunes auteurs et compositeurs.

Fallait pas is francophone Canadian pop singer Isabelle Boulay's first studio album. It was released in 1996. Words and music for the songs on the album were written by Daniel DeShaime. The first track on the album, "Un peu d'innocence", reached position #41 on the Flanders charts in 1996. "Dans ces premiers airs de la belle Isabelle, le génie est déjà là, riche et puissant. Ces chansons sont gracieuses de tendresse, cachée sous la nostalgie. Ces airs enchanteurs nous emportent et nous sommes captifs de cette voix faite d'ors et d'élans. Boulet au pied, il ne nous reste hélas! que de salut d'avoir Boulay à l'oreille. Car cette beauté éternelle touche jusqu'au coeur; elle a le grain des voix chères qui se sont tues."

I have a personal criterion for judging sopranos in modern recordings of any role that Maria Callas excelled in: If you can beat Callas, you are gold. And despite her achievements in bel canto roles (most of which I find uninteresting, either dramatically or as music), I still think that Callas’s greatest gift to the world of opera, particularly opera in Italy, was to point out to the entire country and the world how much more there was in roles like Elvira in I Vespri Siciliani, Cheribini’s Medea, Iphigénie in this opera, and yes, even Lady Macbeth than had been previously thought.

Following the success of 1999's thrilling Armide, Marc Minkowski and his excellent cast fully convey the power and drama of Gluck's masterpiece. They pull you into the story (based on a play by Euripides) through the emotional truth of their interpretation. The opening quiet strings create an air of mystery dispelled by a ferocious storm magnificently conveyed by these early-music specialists. Within a few phrases of Iphigénie's opening lament, Delunsch creates a believable, sympathetic character.

The most popular opera of Gluck might be Orfeo ed Euridice, but this one, Iphigénie en Tauride, is probably his most dramatically involving. It is about familial love and deep friendship and, as such, lacks the usual "love" music and interest. But the waters here run deep, and Martin Pearlman and his singers plumb those depths. Christine Goerke's Iphigénie is dignified, rich with expression and beautiful tone. Almost no less good is the Orestes of Rodney Gilfry, who uses his high baritone with intelligence and ease, singing tenderly when needed and explosively at other times. Vinson Cole brings grainy, expressive tenor to the role of Pylades firmly and effectively; and Stephen Salters, as the villainous Thaos, might sing coarsely, but it suits the character.