Salut demeure chaste et pure

French tenor Tony Poncet was born in Spain in 1918. He served with the French army during WW2, and after the war, in 1947, was given a scholarship to study at the Paris Conservatory. After winning a major prize, he went to the United States, Canada , Mexico and Belgium, where he scored a big success. His important Paris debut was in 1957, at the Opéra-Comique and the Palais-Garnier. He attracted much attention because of his strong, high voice, which made it possible for him to sing the big tenor roles, both French and Italian. Poncet's career was mixed, however, and while he received unstinting support from many, he received "mixed reviews," as it were, from others. I see no need to go into that, because there are many today who receive exactly the same kind of response. Suffice it to say he had a remarkable voice and, in his prime, had a brilliant D natural top. He does a beautiful job indeed with this rendition of the Faust aria, and I would draw special attention to the high C natural, which he takes gently at first , and pulls out in a thrilling crescendo to a forte. A stunning piece of vocalism, which shows what he could do, and helps explain his early success.