BOITO: “Mefistofele.” Samuel Ramey, Eva Marton, Placido...

BOITO: “Mefistofele.” Samuel Ramey, Eva Marton, Placido Domingo, Sergio Tedesco, others; Hungarian State Orchestra and Chorus conducted by Giuseppe Patane. Sony Classical S2K 44983. This two-CD set is the last work of Patane, who died shortly after its completion. Underrated, he was a conductor who knew how to blend voices with proper orchestral balances and how to achieve both lyricism and dramatic pulse. He was fortunate here that two of his three lead singers could do justice to their roles. Ramey is by turns mocking and insinuating, and his lush bass achieves its dramatic effects rightly through musical means. Domingo (who dubbed his work after illness forced the withdrawal of Jose Carreras) also is in splendid voice, revealing a rock-solid top and welcome attention to nuances in such lyric passages as “Giunto sul passo estremo.” Marton’s shrill Margherita/Elena blights the recording with monochromatic tone and unidiomatic phrasing. The supporting cast, in often odd Italian, is adequate, the crucial chorus much more than that.