Altough not as comprehensive as Placido Domingo's Verdi aria collection on DG, Carlo Bergonzi's less exhaustive Philips survey is greatly satisfying in its own right. Bergonzi recorded these 31 arias in 1974 (with the exception of the 1972 Attila and I Masnadieri) expressly for this project (contrasted with Domingo's DG set, which includes a smattering of new recordings among the many more culled from the singer's complete operas on a variety of labels). Despite these being out-of-context studio recordings undertaken by the tenor relatively late in his career, Bergonzi sounds remarkably fresh, singing with vibrant energy and robust tone. His famed knack for breathing life into his characters through thrilling dynamism and lively phrasing is fully evident throughout. Prime examples of this are "O inferno" from Simon Boccanegra, Rigoletto's "Parmi verder le lagrime", "Fontainebleu" from Don Carlo, "Notte perpetua notte" from I due Foscari, and Don Carlo's "La vita e inferno".

Bergonzi recorded a number of Verdi roles earlier in his career, and on some occasions, most notably Riccardo (Un ballo), Radames (Aida), and Alfredo (La Traviata), he must yield to the freewheeling agility of his younger self. (And Bergonzi, like most tenors after Björling, never had true squillo tones at the top of his range.) However, his late take on Otello (a role he never recorded or performed onstage, except for an abortive post-retirement attempt) reveals a depth of tone and simmering darkness not usually associated with this tenor.

Those wanting each and every tenor aria Verdi penned will only be satisfied with Domingo's very complete set, at the cost of a certain fatigue that sets in due to Domingo's limited upper range and generalized singing style. There's no such problem with Bergonzi: his beautiful tone and tactile emotional intensity consistently captivate, especially as documented by Philips' engineers in this very natural sounding recording. [8/27/2004]

--Victor Carr Jr