First performed at the Théâtre-Lyrique in Paris in 1864, Gounod’s Mireille was composed in the wake of Faust and based on Frédéric Mistral’s Provençal poem Mirèio. The opera had a difficult initial reception and underwent numerous revisions, but eventually established itself as an important part of the French repertory. Its particular appeal lies in Gounod’s marriage of pastoral color and lyrical grace with a tragedy of unusual simplicity and directness, the sunlit atmosphere of Provence gradually giving way to music of considerable dramatic and emotional weight.

Janette Vivalda is commanding in the title role, conveying the character’s youth and stoic suffering beautifully. Nicolai Gedda, at the onset of his legendary career, brings style and élan as one of the only non-native Frenchmen in the cast. André Cluytens, equally distinguished in French music and Wagner, shows that the breadth and power he could bring to the latter were matched by an equally light and refined touch here.