Massenet: La Navarraise

This recording forms part of Sony Classical’s further batch of complete recordings from the CBS/Sony and RCA Victor catalogues. This is the first recording of Massenet’s La Navarraise, which has been described as a cross between Carmen and Cavalleria rusticana. Written as a response to the success of Mascagni’s opera, it actually surpasses its model in musical quality. In the title role of this 1975 performance, with the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Antonio de Almeida, the beloved soprano Lucia Popp gives “a remarkable performance … urgent and intense.” (Gramophone)