The list of really successful albums of Broadway song by operatic singers is a short one, and there are still fewer by those whose native language is not English. Credit French soprano
Natalie Dessay
, now retired from opera performances, for appreciating the challenges involved. She neither applies an operatic voice to these songs nor tries to compete with popular singers on their own terms. Instead, like
Renee Fleming
, she creates a new voice, lower in register, rather quiet, and reflective of the dramatic approach of opera.
Dessay
takes an additional step: she commissions distinctive orchestral arrangements and works them out in detail with the
Paris Mozart Orchestra
under
Claire Gibault
. The results are indubitably a mixed bag, but the whole thing comes off quite a bit better than you might think, and it will stick in your head rather than evaporating like so many similar products.
I Feel Pretty
is a breathy mess, but
in general does well to choose songs that although not terribly famous fit her ideas here.
Autour de minuit
is the only French-language track; it's a French setting of
Thelonious Monk
's
Round Midnight
. You might sample the opening
On a Clear Day
(from
On a Clear Day You Can See Forever
), which sets out with clarity and verve what
is trying to accomplish.
apparently conceived this project herself after viewing paintings by
Edward Hopper
, and it does not have the feel of one of
Sony
's profit-inspired crossover outings. Quirky indeed but recommended. ~ James Manheim