Placido Domingo Sacred Songs.(Sound Recording Review)

[] "SACRED SONGS" by Mascagni, Bach/Gounod, Stolzel, Franck, Alvarez, Rustichelli, Domingo Jr., Handel, Rossini et al. With Sissel. Orchestra and Chorus Sinfonico di Milano Giuseppe Verdi, Viotti. Deutsche Grammophon 471575

This early-fall release is a perfect candidate for the opera-star holiday CD sweepstakes. The "sacred" selections, spanning three centuries, from Bach and Stolzel to Paolo Rustichelli and Placido Domingo, Jr., are broadly inspirational rather than traditionally religious, and they will provide nice background music for trimming the tree. The arrangements, by Robert Sadin and Steven Mercurio, are attractive but possess a sameness of color and mood that is, it must be admitted, hard to avoid in "sacred" recitals.

In keeping with the current trend of pairing opera stars with pop stars, Domingo joins forces in two selections with Norwegian vocalist Sissel, known for, among other things, her vocalizing on the soundtrack to the film Titanic. Sissel has an attractive voice of considerable sweetness and range, and Domingo's work with her here in no way reproduces the unintentional comic effect the tenor achieved in his duets with John Denver a number of years ago on Perhaps Love.

Domingo is generally in good voice here; keys are conservative--appropriate for this stage of his career--and only a few high notes are slightly pinched in quality. There is enough sweet singing to satisfy fans, and his naturally fine musicianship is intact, but occasionally there is more than a trace of the generalized approach for which the tenor has been criticized. The two numbers with Sissel are among the most attractive. The first is a vocal adaptation of the Intermezzo from Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana, here ...