Puccini: Messa di Gloria; Preludio Sinfonico; Crisantemi
Roberto AlagnaandAntonio Pappanoare two-thirds of the EMI triumvirate (corresponding member,Angela Gheorghiu), which has done well by Puccini on previous discs. Although this one steps outside the operatic canon into the lesser margins of the composer's output, it's all done so eloquently you forget how undistinguished the material sometimes is. Pappano and the London Symphony Orchestra are clearly in the middle of a love affair and seem to understand each other's every move. Alagna sails through his three sections, making slightly heavy weather of the "Gratias  with worrying signs of a widening vibrato, but happy enough in the oddly amiable Agnus Dei" duet with Thomas Hampson. Ffor a good example of the current all-round health of the LSO after several years of conservative core-repertory craft under its chief conductor, Colin Davis, listen to how beautifully the strings phrase the enlarged string quartet movementCrisantemi, which, together with thePreludio sinfonico, makes a welcome filler.--Michael White