The main interest here is in the Don Carlos extracts, a preview of the complete set of the opera in French due from DG in the autumn. Needless to say, the text and music sound much more happily matched in the original, and Domingo's account of the Fontainebleau Romance is as finely etched as one could wish, with some sweet pianissimos. Observance of dynamic marks is also a feature of the famous duet from Act 1 with Nucci as Rodrigo, eloquently conducted by Abbado. I can't wait now to hear the whole opera.
For the rest, as you will see, it is excerpts from some of the great tenor's recent complete sets, everything sung in his dignified yet impassioned style, not always quite so individual as one could wish for in characterization, but unfailingly beautiful in tone and musical in phrasing. Interesting to hear him coping equally well with Sinopoli's impetuosity in Manon Lescaut as with Karajan's drawn-out tempo in ''Non piangere Liu'' and ''Nessun dorma'', too slow for my liking or Puccini's good. His classic ''Celeste Aida'' and ''Ah! si, ben mio'' are sung with the long breath one has come to expect.
The recordings vary a little in acoustic properties, some more reverberant (Don Carlos and Il trovatore) than others, depending probably on the recording venue. Contributions from Hendricks (as Liu) and Freni (as Manon) are respectively peaky and warm. DG provide texts and translations for LP, none for the CD, which is a perturbing development.'