a genuinely touching, warm-hearted and classy example of the genre – and more imaginative in the choice of repertoire than most.

This thoughtfully-programmed, luxuriously-performed disc provides plenty of opportunity to enjoy all of the qualities which make Davidsen such a special artist: the integrity and sincerity of her singing, her ability to hone that big glorious voice down to a shimmering thread, and of course the thrilling power she can generate at full-throttle...the highlight of the album is an enormously touching sequence of four Scandinavian carols.

Opera stars cannot resist the lure of a Christmas album, most of which collapse into cringe-inducing schmaltz. An exception is the ever classy Lise Davidsen in her Christmas from Norway (Decca), with the Norwegian Radio Orchestra conducted by Christian Eggen: a model of restraint, who has held her nerve and resisted tinsel and jingles...Plenty to discover here, wonderfully sung.