Eleanor Steber's 1954 recording of Les Nuits d'été, brilliantly conducted by Dimitri Mitropoulos, has long been famous, and now sounds better than ever in this superbly remastered recording. The music fits her voice beautifully, and although her French is not idiomatic, her power and conviction must sweep all reservations aside. Steber's singing of the three Berlioz songs is equally fine—I was especially moved by Le jeune pâtre breton.
The “sacred arias“ selections recorded in 1951, when Steber's voice was shiningly pure, have a charmingly Victorian flavor to them, and they are sung with impeccable diction. There is no better recording of the Creation aria in the catalog.
As with the other entries in the Masterworks Heritage series, the album is a feast for the eyes as well as the ears, but it is a pity that no texts and translations were included, especially of the Berlioz material.
