Of late, soprano Véronique Gens (b. 1966) and her compatriot Sandrine Piau (1965) have been on a tear in the recording studio.
Gens appears on no less than 12 albums released between January, 2023 and October 17, 2025. If you reach back to the start of the decade, when she released her gorgeously voiced recital, Nuits (recorded August, 2019), the number grows to 23.
Though Gens increasingly records music that lies in her middle voice, and her vibrato has remained steady, aging has taken its toll. Her just-released Alpha recording, Les Divas d'Offenbach (Offenbach's Divas), accompanied by the National Chorus and Orchestra of the Loire under Hervé Niquet, is devoid of the freshness and sparkle that are expected of Offenbach's music.
This is not to suggest that Gens lacks awareness of the composer's requirements, which she strives to meet with her customary emotional restraint. But when music requires the charm of an Yvonne Printemps (1894-1977), who admittedly sang with far more idiomatic style, or the beauty of a Mady Mesplé or Jodie DeVos, Gens's singing misses the mark.
It's a shame. So much of the repertoire, including arias from Valérie, Boule de Neige, Le voyage dans la lune, Le roi Carotte, La Diva, Madame Favart, Dragonette, Robinson Crusoé, Le Roman comique, La Boulangère a des écus, and Geneviève de Brabant, is unknown to all — save for French operetta afficionados. In addition, the sound is quite good, and the orchestra is given two opportunities to shine on its own.
However, as much as I'd hoped to fall in love once again with Gens's marvelous sound and artistry, there is no escaping the fact that, at this point in her career, vocal beauty surfaces fleetingly at best.
I'd love you to take a listen and disagree. But alas, I fear that you won't.
