Denise Duval (1921-2016) was a French soprano, closely associated with Francis Poulenc. She created major roles in his operas and became one of the essential interpreters of his vocal music.

In the Pristine catalogue she appears in Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites, a work whose early performance history is inseparable from her artistry.

Duval’s singing was direct, clear and intensely theatrical, with a particular gift for Poulenc’s mixture of vulnerability, line and spoken inflection.

Her page is essential for this release. Duval was not just a singer in Poulenc; she was part of the emotional handwriting of the music.