For once‚ a solo recital sensibly planned‚ presented in chronological order‚ and including three alternative arias‚ those from Ernani‚ Attila and Les vêpres siciliennes‚ composed for specific tenors at performances after the première. Then the notes make the point that in the operas represented here‚ mostly ones written early in his career‚ Verdi envisaged a more lyrical tenor than those usually heard in this music today‚ so that Vargas’s compact‚ flexible voice is appropriate for the tasks in hand‚ even if ‘Di quella pira’ over­taxes him (need he have taken the unwritten high C at the close?). He sings with unfailingly firm‚ keen and easily produced tone‚ and encompasses the lyricism of the cavatinas and the heroics called for by the cabalettas. By the same token his tone is rather unvaried‚ and he seldom sings below mezzo forte‚ so heard in one aria after another his somewhat monochrome sound begins to tire the ear. That said‚ he canÊ–Êin terms of style if not vocal strengthÊ–Êalmost stand comparison with Bergonzi in his famous collection of Verdi arias from the 1970s (Philips) and he has the advantage that‚ where necessary‚ the pieces are set in context with subsidiary singers and a chorus. The alternative arias are particularly welcome as are the rarely heard pieces from Due Foscari‚ Masnadieri and Jérusalem. The support of conductor and orchestra is more than adequate.