“VIENNA, CITY OF MY DREAMS.” Placido Domingo,...

“VIENNA, CITY OF MY DREAMS.” Placido Domingo, tenor; Ambrosian Singers; English Chamber Orchestra conducted by Julius Rudel. EMI CDC 7 47398 2 (compact disc). It was inevitable that Domingo would reach into Viennese operetta territory at some point in his burgeoning discography. Unfortunately, the whipped cream curdles. Where a Lehar, a Kalman or a Johann Strauss calls for passion wrapped in sensuality of tone, Domingo blusters through the material with sounds both voluptuous and edgy, a tendency to scoop into notes, distorted vowels and an apparent incapacity to spin out the requisite pianissimos. Rudel may be Viennese by birth, but that coincidence doesn’t save his British musicians, who offer a tinny, literal reading of his evocative material, hampered by strident recording. For diehard fans only.