I heard this recently on the opera channel on satellite radio, but I stupidly didn’t make a note of who was conducting/performing, all I know is that I loved it. Anyone have a favorite performance they’d like to recommend?
This is an old recording, but it’s wonderful.
I have a Philips CD recording from 1987 which is very good. John Eliot Gardiner is conducting the Orchestre de l’Opéra de Lyon. The chorus is the Edinburgh Festival Chorus. The soloists are Michael Myers (Faust), Jean-Philippe Lafont (Méphistophélès), Anne-Sofie Von Otter (Marguerite) and René Schirrer (Brander).
I was going to post the exact same thing.
Denyce Graves performs Habanera. The victorious look Denyce gives at the end- I would trade anything/everything that I have to feel like that for a few minutes. Also, take note of that saucy little head tilt at the end of the first stanza-