A difficult choice to make – I have listened to/watched zillions of performances in my career teaching college voice students. However, the famous singers I saw live in recital is shockingly few – Bryn Terfel (in German and English song) and the magnificent Jessye Norman. I only saw her once, by fortunately she made MANY recordings of art song (from early days on), especially German and French.

I studied French for several years, so I was naturally drawn to all things French including the classic mélodies. I first heard this one by Poulenc in Sills recording of French song with Andre Kostelanetz in orchestrated versions. Jessye included it in one of very early albums (before a makeover) and hers is my favorite. She really embraces elements of the song falling somewhere between classical art song and popular ballad. She performed it throughout her career and only got better, as this video attests. She manages to both be intimate and grandiose. Her French (as always) is exemplary and she swoops through her portamenti as the true boulevard diva she could be.