Bostridge is at his best in those pieces requiring technically adroit command and intelligent poise...The sunlight returns at the end when Bostridge serves up a wonderfully captivating performance of the traditional Neapolitan song, ‘Lu cardillo’.

Ian Bostridge applies his lieder-singer intelligence to these operatic snapshots, for which his familiar expressive wail has an effective place.

In sum, Bostridge’s highly musical and intelligent approach ensures the recital is excellent publicity for that neglected species, the Baroque tenor.

Italian opera may not be Bostridge's usual stomping-ground - and he's at his most compelling when the emphasis is on torment rather than love - but his ever-incisive word-painting pays real dividends throughout this programme of baroque rarities, as does the contrast between his slightly astringent tone and the full-blooded playing of Cappella Neapolitana. The numb horror of Vivaldi's 'Gelido in ogni vena' (echoes of Winter from The Four Seasons here) registers keenly, especially when set aside Vinci's very different setting of the same text.

Leaping and writhing through Vivaldi, Cavalli, Stradella and lesser-known composers, he certainly does more than pass muster, especially in the 11-minute epic extracted from Vivaldi’s Il Farnace and an equally large aria by Antonio Cesti. The instrumentalists, conducted
by Antonio Florio, are excellent, similarly the recording...Think of this as Bostridge’s holiday album.