This 1955 performance is a terrible disappointment. Who would not have wanted to hear Nicolai Gedda sing the rarely-performed tenor version of this opera in his absolute prime? The startlingly high tessitura does not faze him (as it occasionally does the incredibly elegant Leopold Simoneau, still glorious on Philips), and he sings with great class and style. But his big aria is cut and he sounds entirely uninvolved throughout: after lovely, whispered cries of “Euridice” at the opera’s start, he walks through the part, singing the notes handsomely, seemingly bored. Liliane Berton sings Amour with plenty of personality, but with an acidy tone; Janine Micheau’s Euridice is elegant but not innocent-sounding.
Even if you were still sold on acquiring this set, however, the tepid tempos offered by Louis de Froment might put you off. And his edition of the score might push you farther away: In addition to the omission of Orphée’s showpiece “L’esprit renait”, he loses the third stanza of his opening lament; the second act ends with the 1762 Ballo; and the Dance of the Furies begins rather than ends the second act. Weird and unwelcome. Oh yes, the sound is boxy and unpleasant.
