Life has never been easy for the Rossini tenor. Not least because of Rossini’s own writing for a series of outstanding tenors‚ who each possessed his own peculiar voice­type‚ later generations of singers have found themselves confronted with a portfolio of roles which is impossibly diverse in its demands. Yet even after selections have been made‚ the roles themselves are still cruelly difficult to sing. They are also often disappointingly one­dimensional in terms of theatrical impact‚ something that derives in part from Rossini’s reluctance to write romantically for what would later become the soprano­tenor combination. For five years now‚ the 28­year­old Peruvian tenor Juan Diego Flórez has been winning golden opinions in the opera house and recital hall. His current specialisms are Almaviva in Il barbiere‚ Ramiro in La Cenerentola‚ and the bewilderingly difficult high­lying coloratura roles Rossini wrote for Giovanni David and one or two similarly equipped tenors in Italy in 1816­23. A number of contemporary tenors sing some or all of this repertory‚ but none are as technically secure as Flórez who announces his presence here with a classically correct account of Idreno’s cavatina from Semiramide‚ an aria so difficult it is regularly omitted in the theatre and on record. Almaviva’s Act 2 aria is also regularly dropped. Listening to Flórez sing it‚ you can hear why‚ whilst at the same time reflecting that it is the icing on the Il barbiere cake which no self­respecting tenor would dare withhold. This is Flórez at his considerable best‚ though two of the three Giovanni David showpieces included here‚ the arias from Zelmira and La donna del lago‚ are every bit as fine. The repertory gives the recital a fierce‚ somewhat relentless air‚ an impression occasionally reinforced by Flórez’s singing: not least his fondness for using the ends of arias to add to the recital’s already abundant supply of (written) high Cs and Ds. I thought his Ramiro rather mechanical and lacking in charm. For variety’s sake‚ and thinking back to the famous old Fernando De Lucia recordings‚ it would have been interesting to hear what he currently makes of the two gentler‚ exquisitely difficult‚ Almaviva arias. The chorus is somewhat apologetically re­corded in all but the Zelmira extract‚ but there is some outstanding obbligato wind­playing (in the Otello aria‚ the clarinettist almost outshines the singer) and Riccardo Chailly conducts with his usual acumen and care.