These extended excerpts from Lea Troyens were not drawn from a complete performance of the opera, but were arranged for concert presentation. Inevitably, there are a lot of cuts and one wishes Crespin, Chauvet and company could've performed the complete work. But I am grateful to have this souvenir of Crespin, singing even more of the two roles than she did for her two disc EMI set.We hear Cassandra's two big scenes from the first two acts and most of Didon's role from the remaining three, augmented by Hylas' lovely song and Enee's famous aria, and the two famous orchestral pieces, the Royal Hunt and Storm and the Vallon Sonore. Whoever chose the selections knew which scenes to focus on.It almost goes without saying that Crespin is magnificent. She ably captures the sadness and despair of Cassandre (even adding a loud, unscripted cry after the Trojan horse is marched into the city) and is every inch the regal, noble Didon. Both roles suit her voice perfectly and her tone is warm and beautiful. Chauvet was a very underrated singer. He doesn't have the pure head voice for the high notes in the big duet with Didon, but compensates with an accurate top C and ringing B-flats later on. The other singers are all more than adequate even if their French is a little iffy. Sebastian provides strong leadership.Highly recommended to all lovers of the opera or the singers!

Pour Régine Crespin et Georges Sébastian.La diction et la ligne de chant de Crespin sont magnifiques.

This is a fine performance, especially the singing of Crespin. Check out her studio recording of excerpts on EMI from about the same time. Sound is a bit muffled so that is a detraction. All in all, I enjoyed these 2 discs.

The set is worth having for Crespin alone, in glorious voice. Chauvet was very good as well. The rest were adequate. The problem is with the "extended excerpts". I know we were warned, but it was still sad to miss so much of the opera. Was this taken from a complete performance? Even the excerpts seemed cut. It seems a common practice to do the "Royal Hunt and Storm" as an orchestral interlude (no chorus), that is to say, the producer and director tap "pass" to the challenge.