This disc, recorded piecemeal in Warsaw over four months in 2011/12, is not an example of how to enliven and rework the format of the solo recital album. London, New York and home cinema audiences all now know that Beczała has a handsome voice and presence; he has little to prove. But the performances collected here sound like he is introducing himself to us 12 times in succession, making sure we ‘get’ the power and agility of his voice.

Of the individuality or dramatic situation of these nine Verdi characters (and the Requiem) we get but little impression. The two duets sound like they are being read straight off the page by Beczała’s partners: we don’t know what Podleś’s hooty Azucena wants from this particular Manrico, or hear how she is getting it. Kwiecien’s Rodrigo in the Don Carlo excerpt is in good voice but it appears that neither he, Beczała nor maestro Borowicz have agreed where and how they’re going to hold back or push forward. So this watershed moment – friends reunited but, in so doing, actually swearing disloyalty to the country they serve – is awkward and bumpy. Faster moments of anger (‘Ella mi fu rapita’), concern (‘Lunge da lei’) or love (‘Ah sì, ben mio’) are delivered purely with a generalised vigour but hardly any of the individual tinta crafted by the composer. Perfectly adequate sound and balance but it’s almost ironic that Orfeo’s booklet-note concentrates so much on dramatic characterisation.