Vogt shows no signs of lightening an oversized voice. In fact, it is impossible to guess that he isn’t a fresh young lyric tenor. By what vocal magic this was accomplished is beyond me, but except for touches of shrillness in his upper register, Vogt is an impressive Mozart hero; he sings “Dies Bildnis ist bezaubernd schön” with such easy stylishness that only Fritz Wunderlich really surpasses him…the Pamina of Christiane Karg exemplifies this singer’s musicality and lovely tone. She is never less than a pleasure to listen to.

Once again, Yannick Nézet-Séguin proves himself to be a consummate Mozartian. In the opening number, the Three Ladies are delightfully light and airy; the playing of the orchestra, when Papageno enters before discovering Pamina, is beautifully pointed…First-rate conducting, then, but overall a contribution to this excellent series which is slightly below-par.

[Villazón] sings the notes more than decently and doesn’t sound like a slumming tenor, even if his German is odd...[Vogt's] Tamino is cleanly if vacantly sung in naive tones that are well suited to Mozart. Albina Shagimuratova as the Queen of Night, Christiane Karg as Pamina and Franz-Josef Selig as Sarastro are all top-notch, and Nézet-Séguin conducts a lithe yet momentous account of the score.

[Nézet-Séguin] manages to drive at quite a pace but still maintain perfect control and not sound rushed. Tenor Klaus Florian Vogt, best known for Wagner, is often criticised for sounding like a Tamino, and here he is just that; a good one too, sounding manly rather than laddish. And if Vogt’s casting raised an eyebrow, Rolando Villazón crops up as Papageno – and, much as I feared another clapped-out tenor giving a baritone role a go, I must report that he is rather good! Not overplayed and clownish, but confidently and pleasingly sung and acted.