After the introductory Handel this settles down to a programme of Mozart and Strauss with a rather generous allowance of operetta and songs from the shows, just slightly calling into question the overall title ‘Great Operatic Arias’. Not that it is something to take issue over: the succession of delightful items is very pleasing, and the admixture of light music will probably be welcomed in private even in quarters where it would be impossible to admit to a liking for the tunes of Ivor Novello and Imré Kálmán. Indeed, coming after a duet from The Gypsy Princess, the orchestral opening of the final scene in Capriccio sounds by no means as utterly remote in idiom as one might have thought – and wished.

Yvonne Kenny’s voice is lasting well. I can hardly remember a time when, to my ears, her tone in the upper register did not acquire, with increased volume, a kind of extraneous glint of metal, and, though it is noticeable here from time to time, it does not seem to have become any more pervasive or troublesome over the years. She retains the clarity and precision that have always been attractive features, and, like other singers in this series, has to a remarkable degree the faculty of singing, without fuss and with apparent ease, passages in which many an acclaimed virtuoso will leave the listener in no doubt as to their difficulty.

She is particularly good in the excerpts from Arabella and Capriccio, reminding us that she is now one of the most experienced Strauss sopranos we have. Rebecca Evans sings beautifully in her two duets, and it is good also to hear how well the voice of Roderick Williams records. There is stylish playing by the LSO under Richard Hickox and the recital makes a ravishing first impression with the theorbo solo by Eligio Quinteiro in the blissful reproaches of Handel’s Armida.