THE LAST NUDE

In this account of art deco painter Tamara de Lempicka’s relationship with her model, Rafaela, buildings look like confections and sewing machines sound like cicadas. In fact, nearly every detail thrums with lush, sensual imagery. Rafaela is stumbling her way through Jazz Age Paris when she meets Tamara and becomes her lover and muse. Thérèse Plummer voices young Rafaela with a contemporary inflection and captures her appealing energy. Plummer also balances the young woman’s naïveté with her somewhat desperate edges. Barbara Caruso narrates the artist’s part just as convincingly, immersing herself in the role of the emotional Polish painter. Her accent and direct tone provide an appropriate contrast to Plummer’s performance. This is an excellent production of a fascinating story. L.B.F. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine [Published: JANUARY 2012]