Regine Crespin.(Sound Recording Review)

[] Arias and songs by Berlioz, Schumann, Schubert, Faure, Roussel et al. Orchestre Philharmonique de l'ORTE Hartemann; Ivaldi, Reiss, piano. Bonus: Denise Duval, arias and songs by Poulenc. Poulenc, piano. EMI Classics/Classic Archive DVD DVA 4928479, 68 mins.

Commentator and opera quizmaster Robert Lawrence once compared Regine Crespin's unique vocal timbre to "a rich burgundy" in which even the top notes contained the ripe, dark undertones of her lower register. True as far as it went, but the Crespin menu also boasted its shimmering Pouilly Fuisse, the subtle delicacy of a master recitalist. The combination of dark and light, Teutonic and Mediterranean, dramatic power and lyric warmth, in style as well as voice, gave her a distinctive allure, even on a late-1960s Met roster that included Nilsson, Rysanek, Lear and Ludwig.

This sampler from French radio and TV archives captures more of the white wine than the red. The Berlioz excerpts (recorded in 1965) raise the highest expectations, especially Didon's farewell from Les Troyens, a Crespin role that New York never heard her perform. Partly under the influence of a wooden conductor (Jean-Claude Hartemann) who shortchanges the recitative, this glimpse of Didon becomes an exercise in pure lyricism, gorgeously, luminously sung but completely lacking in any emotion other than grief.

There's more variety, luckily, in "D'amour l'ardente flamme" from La Damnation de Faust, but the lone excerpt from Les Nuits d'Ete (which ...