Olivier Messiaen: Saint François d'Assise (1999)

Nominated for the 2000 Grammy Award for "Best Opera Recording", Olivier Messiaen's St. Francis of Assisi, the grandest grand opera since Wagner's Parsifal, came into being in 1983, during the first Reagan Administration, when Men at Work topped the pop charts. Somehow, it has already acquired a historical aura, as if it were an antiquity whose head and paws are only now emerging from the sand. José van Dam, who created the demanding title role in 1983, is a powerful presence in this live recording from the 1998 Salzburg Festival, and Dawn Upshaw―the lone female soloist in this baritone-dominated work―is appropriately radiant as the Angel. Conducted by Kent Nagano, who studied the score with the composer, this can be recommended to fans of Messiaen or to anyone interested in modern opera as a truly definitive recording.

Tracklist

Visit Deutsche Grammophon website for a complete rundown of tracks including audio samplers


John Aler, Tenor
Dirk D'Ase, Vocalist
Akos Banlaky, Vocalist
José van Dam, Bass-Baritone
Valérie Hartmann-Claverie, Ondes Martenot
Dominique Kim, Ondes Martenot
Tom Krause, Bass; Baritone
Jeanne Loriod, Ondes Martenot
Urban Malmberg, Vocalist
Chris Merritt, Tenor
Guy Renard, Tenor; Vocalist
Dawn Upshaw, Soprano

Arnold Schoenberg Choir & Hallé Orchestra
Kent Nagano, conductor

Deutsche Grammophon 20/21 Series: 000289 445 1762 0