Unlikely in theory, fruitful in practice: for the first time on CD, Eloquence presents a duet record of the Greek-born, French mezzo-soprano Irma Kolassi and French-Canadian tenor Raoul Jobin.

Kolassi was no creature of the stage: her brief recording career centres around Decca recital albums which have also been newly remastered and reissued by Eloquence (ELQ4824637). Meanwhile Jobin was a well-loved fixture both at the Metropolitan Opera, New York, and in front of the notoriously picky opera-going audience in Paris.

Together they recorded the prime set-piece arias and duets from La damnation de Faust and Werther in London: a classic ‘Decca sound’ record from October 1954 supervised by Peter Andry and engineered by Kenneth Wilkinson. The previous year, John Culshaw had recorded Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette in Paris, and the first two numbers from Act II are presented here. Jobin can now be appreciated as among the last of a great procession of Francophone tenors.

The Berlioz and Massenet extracts were enjoyed for making unusual and welcome selections from works not much blessed at the time of their release with complete recordings. Even more, though, did critical attention focus on Kolassi, whose intelligent and captivating mezzo could not otherwise be savoured in operatic music: ‘just right for the Romance,’ thought an early Gramophone reviewer (April 1958), ‘and the playing by the London Symphony under Fistoulari is admirable.’

‘The disc is worth having for the Berlioz extracts, especially for Miss Kolassi’s beautiful and sensitive singing of the two Marguerite pieces … [her] Letter Scene is beautifully done.’ - Opera magazine, December 1955

‘This was recorded late in the tenor’s career, but his excellent diction and the strong attack and reserves or power are very much in evidence. The Charlotte is a Greek mezzo-soprano who never appeared on the stage, but her sensitivity as a recitalist is evident here.’ - Opera magazine, March 1977