Oddly enough, the world's most famous opera alongside Carmen and Tosca has never had a definitive, benchmark recording; and the few live versions available today don't really improve matters. Two versions emerge today: the one by Michel Plasson, recorded at Toulouse in 1991, perfect in terms of its orchestral coherence, but less so in terms of singers; and the older version directed by André Cluytens in 1958
. There is, of course, the wild pidgin of Boris Christoff, the great star of Russian song: but his diction and outlandish style provoke laughter today. Apart from this rather odd incarnation of Mephisto, the rest of the casting shows what French singing was capable of in the 1950s. In terms of diction, style, and a break with some artists who had gorwn weary of the stage, this studio recording made under Cluytens's direction has an immediacy and life to it. We should add that the sound quality, excellently restored and remastered, dates from the dawn of stereo, and is very present, having stood the test of time. The relationship between voices and orchestra is excellent and allows us to hear Ernest Blanc's exceptional diction; the moving timbre of Victoria de los Ángeles, Nicolai Gedda's mettle and Rita Gorr's deep voice. © François Hudry/Qobuz