Massenet: Chérubin / von Stade, J. Anderson, Ramey, Upshaw, P. Steinberg

Beautiful music and singing. The CD comes with a libretto in French, English, German, and Italian. (The opera is sung in the original French.) I had never heard or heard of this opera before; so glad I "took a chance."

The performance itself can hardly be faulted. Von State and Upshaw are definitely enchanting with their lyrical abilities. Ramey's philosopher is ideally weighted and warm. June Anderson successfully conveyed her role's haughty beauty; however, her intonation is not always steady to maintain/deliver Massenet's delicate lines. Nevertheless, as a performance, I am happy to report this set is a winning one.Sadly, even though the box promises the Libretto is included, it is actually nowhere to be found. I had to borrow it from elsewhere.

i know anything is possible, but with a roster of singers like this, it would have been a shock if this recording was anything but a delight. von stade is captured on this recording just before she passed into the overly-mannered singing into which she now frequently lapses. ramey is perfection, as usual. june anderson is brilliant in her fiery aria and the aubade/vive amour qui reve scene is literally dreamy. also a chance to catch a relatively early dawn upshaw performance. highly recommended.

This is a lovely recording of a frothy Massenet confection. The opera itself is not particularly deep or meaningful, but has some lovely moments, and is not dissimilar to his earlier opera Cendrillon. If you like Massenet or romantic French opera, you are likely to enjoy Cherubin. Von Stade in the title role is a delight, her singing always characterful and beautiful. All the other principals are exemplary, with a particularly lovely performance by a young Dawn Upshaw. If you're looking for a Cherubin for your library you don't have many options, but this is the one to go for.