DÉODAT DE SÉVERAC (1872-1921): Le Cœur du moulin.

Description: Full of the lifelong love of and attachment to the land of Languedoc and the colors, sounds, aromas and music of it and of neighboring Catalonia, this two-act opera of 1903 bears a similar relation to Séverac's colorful piano œuvre which is also steeped in the warmth of the French south. A young man returns to his village to find his sweetheart married; simple enough but, unusually, the spirits of the place, including the titular wind-mill, help convince him that the honorable thing to do is to leave again. Debussian orchestral colors and continuous recitative (much like that in Pelléas) combine with Séverac's personal style to create an evocative idyll. French-English libretto. Jean-Sébastien Bou, Pierre-Yves Pruvot (baritones), Sophie Marin-Degor (soprano), Marie-Thérèse Keller (mezzo), Maîtrise & Chœurs de l'Opéra de Tours, Orchestra Symphonique Région Centre-Tours; Jean-Yves Ossonce.