Operatic galas on disc can show the participants on careless form. No sign of that here, with an opening 'Flower Duet' from Lakmé whose essential intimacy is conveyed in a nicely blended performance from Anna Netrebko and Elina Garanca. Netrebko's solo item, 'Casta diva' from Norma... technically impressive, and done with feeling. Giving the best overall impression is Ramón Vargas with his melting 'Una furtiva lagrima', though again the Luisa Miller aria is one size too big for his lyric tenor.

…Ramón Vargas… just about stole the show. He begins with a most delicately phrased "Una furtiva lagrima" with some melting pianissimi in the final bars, including a classic messa di voce on the final "morire" that would have pleased even Manuel García. At the opposite end of the spectrum he declaims a fervent, dramatic "Quando le sere" from Luisa Miller and joins Anna Netrebko in a heartfelt "O soave fanciulla", and then a rollicking contribution to the Rigoletto quartet with Ludovic Tézier as the jester. Netrebko's other contributions are "Casta diva"... and the Lakmé Flower Duet, in which her voice blends so beautifully with that of Garanca that I wonder if this isn't another dream duo.