Although Sylvia McNair is ostensibly the "star" of this recording, she shares that honor with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The three works here--each of which evokes the exotic--require a singer with excellent French and an ability to convey the sensuality of the poetry, but also an orchestra which can support and extend the qualities of the texts and vocal lines.McNair's French is impeccable; likewise her singing. She is one of only a handful of American singers with the mastery of the language required to truly perform French song well. Musical sense and vocal talent will not suffice, for so much of the way French composers set their language is inseparably melded to the words themselves. Seiji Ozawa and the BSO are superb in their supporting-yet-indispensable role in these works, and the performances as a whole are immensely successful.

Although Sylvia McNair is ostensibly the "star" of this recording, she shares that honor with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The three works here--each of which evokes the exotic--require a singer with excellent French and an ability to convey the sensuality of the poetry, but also an orchestra which can support and extend the qualities of the texts and vocal lines.
McNair's French is impeccable; likewise her singing. She is one of only a handful of American singers with the mastery of the language required to truly perform French song well. Musical sense and vocal talent will not suffice, for so much of the way French composers set their language is inseparably melded to the words themselves. Seiji Ozawa and the BSO are superb in their supporting-yet-indispensable role in these works, and the performances as a whole are immensely successful.