Régine Crespin

Possessor of one of the most opulent soprano voices of her generation, Régine Crespin brought a new sensuousness to the German roles for which she was famous, from Strauss’s Marschallin to Wagner’s Kundry. She also excelled in her native French repertoire, bringing her characteristic luxurious tone and emotional commitment to the music of Fauré, Massenet and Berlioz – singing both Cassandra and Dido in Les Troyens – and appeared in the French première of Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites. After a period of vocal crisis she took on mezzo-soprano roles and made an alluring Carmen on record and on stage at the Metropolitan Opera.