On track: Tenor casts irresistible spell

Eight years ago Rolando Villazon was being mentored in various Young Artist programmes with the Pittsburgh and San Francisco opera companies.
In 1999, a second prize in Placido Domingo's Operalia competition took the Mexican tenor through a succession of European opera houses, culminating in last year's high-profile La Traviata for the Salzburg Festival.

Since 2004, Villazon has been releasing annual recital discs on Virgin Classics that reveal the extent of his artistry. One would have to suffer from terminal tenorophobia not to fall under their spell.

His first Italian collection cemented his reputation, showing taste and top Cs to marvel at, not to mention the ability to characterise arias that ranged from Puccini's Che gelida manina to obscurities from the Valley of Verismo such as Quando al soave anelito from Mascagni's Nerone.

Last year's set of arias by Gounod and Massenet showed the tenor moving from robust Italian to the more subtle French school. Again the balance of repertoire was all, with a welcome reminder that there is considerably more to Gounod than just Faust and Romeo et Juliette.

Villazon's latest, Opera Recital, with the Munchner Rundfunkorchester under Michel Plasson, extends the borders to Russia, with a passionate account of Lenski's aria from Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin.

He dips into the lighter side with two arias from Offenbach's Tales of Hoffmann, with snapping consonants and thrilling flourishes for Kleinzach's Song.

In the traditional realm, he cannot be faulted. Puccini's Recondita armonia has welcome sinew after the bloated versions you hear on the celebrity tenor circuit; Donizetti's Come gentil is a frothy delight.

Neither does he hold back when it comes to fruitier specimens from Giordano and Flotow - the sentimental Jungfrau Maria from the latter's Alessandro Stradella, with a forest of harp behind it, will be a taste test for some.

While everyone will find their own favourites here, for me, substantial arias from Ernani and Un Ballo in Maschera must take second place to Nadir's cri de coeur from The Pearl Fishers.

When Villazon sings "O night of enchantment! Divine rapture", he might well be describing this new recording.

* Rolando Villazon: Opera Recital (Virgin Classics 344701)