Air de Printemps. (A Singer's Diary).

Ask soprano Amy Burton about her latest recital project, and she carefully points out, "It's not a recital, it's a show. Yvonne Printemps was very `show beeznezz.'" Burton's eyes sparkle as she effortlessly, even in a crowded Manhattan coffee emporium, transforms herself into the beguiling French operetta star of the 1920s and '30s, whose stage and screen career lasted until 1959. "She was so famous in France, such an icon--a fashion icon and a movie icon, a movie star in fact. Aficionados know about her. People who know Josephine Baker know about her. But she is an incredibly well-kept secret."

The secret will be out in November with "Yvonne Printemps--A French Diva Unveiled," a multimedia show presented by L'Opera Francais de New York to mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of Printemps's death. The project was initiated by Burton herself, who has been assembling fascinating concert programs for years. She and her husband, pianist and composer John Musto, often appear together, and they particularly enjoy exploring repertory and assembling recitals in new and offbeat ways.

"It's like putting together a menu," she claims. "We both have very eclectic tastes." They once programmed a group of songs for and about children, finishing off with the Rodgers and Hart number "Everybody Loves You When You're Asleep." "At the time of the recital, we had an eighteen-month-old child who still wasn't sleeping through the night, and John's black humor prevailed here." They enjoy experimenting with the placement and juxtaposition of songs from different periods. "What I've learned from John is that there is just music, whether it's pop music or Baroque or contemporary, and you have to make theater out of it. It's a really joyous collaboration that we have, and an essential ingredient of my life."

Though the husband-and-wife duo have performed much of Yvonne Printemps's repertoire in recital, this particular program had a different conception. "I mentioned to my friend, the actress Jacqueline Chambord, that I was looking for a writer to create a real theater piece. Jean-Philippe Clarac and Olivier Deloeuil had just directed a show for L'Opera Francais and were still in town. We all had a drink and got on famously. They couldn't believe there was an American soprano who knew about Yvonne Printemps and appreciated her style and humor. And they love New York the way I love Paris, so we have a real French-American partnership for this project."

But how did Burton, who sings Mozart and Puccini operas and gives world premieres of contemporary music, become acquainted with this niche repertoire in the first place? "Steve Blier [the writer, pianist and co-artistic director of the New York Festival of Song] lent me a CD of L'Amour Masque, which he wanted to put on." L'Amour Masque was written by Printemps's husband, actor-playwright Sacha Guitry, as a vehicle for his wife, with music by Andre Messager. "I was intrigued listening to the disc, but when we started actually working on the music, it was like being hit by a thunderbolt," recalls Burton.

Blier had tempted other sopranos with some of this material, but he admits that Burton is the one who has forged a real identity with this repertoire. "Amy is a chameleon, and she's brilliantly intelligent. She also has a wicked sense of humor, a lot of stage savvy and an inquisitive, searching spirit. When we did [Noel Coward's] Conversation Piece, it was uncanny the way Amy managed to evoke the style of a street-smart French actress without condescension or sheer imitation."

After performing L'Amour Masque and Conversation Piece with Blier, Burton began uncovering other pieces written for Printemps and ...