From Mozart to Bernstein is an eclectic repertoire and there is no obvious reason why Jerry Hadley should not add to his tally of lyric nineteenthcentury operatic roles as well. In fact, the title of this recital disc -The Age of Bel Canto" - is interpreted fairly loosely, stretching as far as the 1880s to take in Delibes's Lakme and across the Channel for a couple of Victorian ballad operas by Balfe. One senses a guiding hand at work here. Hadley may enjoy singing these various styles, but it cannot be a coincidence that Richard Bonynge is on hand as conductor.

The mood is lyrical and plangent throughout. Among his Italian operas Hadley ventures one 1 energetic aria by Rossini, which he delivers without much bravura or note-by-note precision. For the rest he prefers the gentler lyricism of Donizetti, shaping the music sensitively, sometimes delicately, and with a generous helping -some might say a surfeit - of Anglo-Saxon good taste. This is the territory that Tito Schipa used to occupy, bringing to it more verbal point and emotional intensity than is found here. Hadley sounds more at home in the less demanding items, the two Balfe solos naturally, but also the Flotow and the Thomas, which he sings with unexaggerated charm.

The main pleasure of the disc lies in catching up with some relatively rare excerpts from the French repertoire. As Hadley sings it in French, Donizetti's "Seul sur la terre" from Dom Sebastien might be included in that category. There is also a typically winning solo from Planquette's Les cloches de Corneville and, above all, Gerald's sensuous aria from Lakme, wallowing in lush orchestral textures which Bonynge and the recording engineers give their head. Hadley is generally in good voice, offering a number of full-throated top Cs and once or twice venturing higher in an effective falsetto. His tenor has the measure of this versatile programme, even if the personality is sometimes wanting. Unfortunately, the booklet has no texts, only very skimpy synopses of the plots.

-- Gramophone [1/1996]