Adieu, Mme. Crespin

Another great soprano passed away this week. Yesterday, French soprano, Regine Crespin, died of cancer in Paris. She was 80.

Just as Beverly Sills could be classified as an all-American singer. Crespin could be classified as the quintessential French singer, blending perfectly text and music into a beautiful synthesis.

Here is a perfect example of the French style as displayed by Regine Crespin, a 1964 performance of Gabriel Faure’s beautiful song Soir (Evening). If you follow the subtitles, you can see how she gently shades the poetry of this beautiful song.

Here is a tribute to Mme. Crespin by Opera News, which is well worth the read:

http://www.metoperafamily.org/operanews/news/pressrelease.aspx?id=1427

This has certainly been a sad week for the opera world.