‘Wicked’ poet finds ideal interpreter
mainThe life of Paul Verlaine cannot be mistaken for the lives of saints. Leaving his wife for Arthur Rimbaud, he went to jail for shooting the younger poet in a fit of jealous rage. Along the way, he wrote some of the most unforgettable lines in French poetry, set by all the great French composers and some of the most popular entertainers.
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Another remarkable (unforgettable, really) recording of Verlaine songs is Debussy’s ‘Fetes Galantes I and II’ as recorded by Maggie Teyte (with Alfred Cortot, 1936). Teyte had studied the songs with Debussy himself years before.