Julien Behr, Orchestre de l'Opéra de Lyon & Pierre Bleuse - Confidence (2018)

The French tenor Julien Behr is one of today’s rising vocal stars. Voted ‘Révélation artiste lyrique de l’Adami’ in 2009, the year he made his international debut at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, he has become famous for his Mozart roles (including Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, recorded live at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in 2016 under the direction of Jérémie Rhorer, Alpha379).

It is the French Romantic repertory composed between 1800 and 1900 that the tenor has chosen for his first recital disc. A wide variety of works (both grand opéra and opéra-comique), famous arias and absolute rarities make up this programme devised by the Palazzetto Bru Zane and Alexandre Dratwicki, who writes in the booklet that accompanies the CD: ‘Nothing is more difficult for a tenor than “finding his voice” in this imbroglio of genres and institutions… Already much admired for his charismatic vocal style and personality, the tenor Julien Behr is now the hero of a recital that revisits this repertory in all its variety, ranging from tenderness to heroism, from joy to melancholy.’

The programme takes in Ambroise Thomas (Mignon, after Goethe), Bizet and his famous La Jolie Fille de Perth, Cinq-Mars (1877) by Gounod, Benjamin Godard (Jocelyn), André Messager and his splendid Fortunio (1907), Delibes (Jean de Nivelle and Lakmé, with Gérald’s celebrated aria) and Le Chevalier Jean (1885) by Victorin Joncières (one of the first Wagnerians) among others. French versions of two extremely well-known numbers by Franz Lehár from The Merry Widow and The Land of Smiles – the title track ‘Je t’ai donné mon coeur’ (‘You are my heart’s delight’) – complete this panorama magnificently supported by the Orchestre de l’Opéra National de Lyon and conducted by another rising star, Pierre Bleuse.

Julien Behr, tenor
Orchestre de l'Opera de Lyon
Pierre Bleuse, conductor

Tracklist:
Charles Gounod (1818 - 1893):
1 Cinq-Mars: Prélude et cavatine de Cinq-Mars "À vous, ma mère… ô chère et vivante image"06:21
Léo Delibes (1836 - 1891):
2 Jean de Nivelle: Récit et stances de Jean "J'ai vu la bannière de France !"05:44
André Messager (1853 - 1929):
3 Fortunio: Air de Fortunio "J'aimais la vieille maison grise"02:54
Victorin Joncières (1839 - 1903):
4Le chevalier Jean: Scène et air de Jean "Parlons de moi, le voulez vous ? … Oui j'aime, hélas !"05:05
Augusta Holmès (1847 - 1903):
5 Ludus pro patria: La nuit et l'amour05:57
Georges Bizet (1838 - 1875):
6 La jolie fille de Perth, WD 15: Sérénade de Henry Smith "Partout des cris de joie… A la voix d'un amant fidèle"04:09
Benjamin Godard (1849 - 1895):
7 Jocelyn, Op. 100: Berceuse "Cachés dans cet asile"04:43
Léo Delibes:
8 Lakmé: Cavatine de Gérald "Prendre le dessin d'un bijou… Fantaisie aux divins mensonges"05:22
Franz Lehár (1870 - 1948):
9 Le pays du sourire: Air de Sou-Chong "Je t'ai donné mon cœur"04:05
Emmanuel Chabrier (1841 - 1894):
10 Habanera04:25
Ambroise Thomas (1811 - 1896):
11 Mignon: Romance de Wilheim Meister "Elle ne croyait pas, dans sa candeur naïve"03:55
Franz Lehár:
12 La veuve joyeuse: Air de Camille "Viens dans ce joli pavillon"03:45
Henri Duparc (1848 - 1933):
13 Aux étoiles02:31
John Hess (1913 - 2001):
14 Vous, qui passez sans me voir