Italian baritone Giorgio Caoduro is a singer who has taken his time in releasing his first recital disc. Over a decade of roles at La Scala, LA, Sydney and the Royal Opera House have helped shape technique in which drama is absolutely embedded, and we hear the fruits in this shape-shifting release that takes the singer from comedy to tragedy, villain to hero (via a few elderly buffoons) as he runs the gamut of Rossini’s baritone roles.

Giorgio Caoduro

In case that sounds like a predictable litany of Figaros, Dandinis and Bartolos, rest assured, the choices are far less obvious. Dandini does make an appearance, but a spacious Come un’ape ne’ giorni d’aprile, with plenty of meaty bluster and vocal pomp, and a light-footed Un segreto d’importanza are framed with everything from Torvaldo e Dorliska’s Duke, a repentant Batone from L’inganno felice and Gaudenzio from Il Signor Bruschino. We even peek over the parapet of grand opera with Guillaume Tell’s lovely prayer Sois...