The poetry of Paul Verlaine and Arthur Rimbaud inspired composers Fauré, Debussy and Britten, and in turn spurred Grammy Award-nominated tenor Nicholas Phan to combine their works on his new album, 'Illuminations'.

Following acclaimed albums devoted to Britten, baroque lute songs and German lieder, Grammy Award-nominated tenor Nicholas Phan continues to spread his wings with 'Illuminations', an album featuring compositions by Benjamin Britten, Claude Debussy and Gabriel Fauré who were each inspired by the poetry of two 19th-century French literary titans, Paul Verlaine and his protégé and eventual lover Arthur Rimbaud. The intertwined lives of the French poets and composers manifested themselves in Fauré's impassioned Verlaine-inspired La bonne chanson and Debussy's Ariettes oubliées drawn from Verlaine's Romances sans paroles. Just decades later Britten was inspired by Rimbaud's influential prose-poetry Les Illuminations.

CRITICAL ACCLAIM FOR NICHOLAS PHAN

"one of the most beautiful young lyric voices around." - Opera News

"The year has barely begun and already here's a disc to remember come all those end-of-year round-ups." - Gramophone Editor's Choice (on A Painted Tale, AV 2325)

"so many strengths - a dapper, cultivated timbre, splendid enunciation, and keen intelligence and musicianship." - WQXR (on Still Falls the Rain, AV 2258)

"There are so many jewels here - Phan's sheer sensitivity is a delight. An absorbing recital disc and an ideal introduction to the joys of lieder. Beautifully recorded" - TheArtsDesk.com (on Gods & Monsters, AV 2368)