New on CDs: Operas From Gershwin to Verdi

TITO SCHIPA. Songs and Arias. BMG Music. CD 7969-2-RG (compact disc). Schipa was that rarity, a singer who knew exactly what his light, lyric voice could and could not do in a repertory that he chose wisely. No one would claim that the performance of his own “Pianefforte e notte,” recorded in 1955, matches the arias, songs and duets (three with Amelita Galli-Curci from “Traviata,” “Sonnambula” and “Lucia”) mostly from the ‘20s and ‘30s when his voice was in its silky prime. His scale work in such a piece as the Rossini “Ecco ridente” is remarkable, as is the control in “Pourquoi me reveiller.” Almost all the work is on a level of accomplishment only great singers achieve. The one disappointment is a labored “Il mio tesoro.”