…has an exceptionally beautiful voice, which he uses to fine effect in some of these arias. Philippe's great aria from Don Carlos is impressive, so is Procida's from Les vêpres siciliennes, and his Berlioz, Gounod and Meyerbeer are striking too.

Here, in all probability, is the basso cantante par excellence missing since the heyday of Samuel Ramey. The fine, resonant voice, wide in range, firm and even in delivery, is at home in a variety of styles.

Schrott is suave and honeyed in the serenades from Don Giovanni and Gounod’s Faust

Half the disc is devoted to Mozart and the three Da Ponte roles that made Schrott's name...But he often fares better in the quieter, more beguiling moments than in full flow - not usually the case on stage...three arias from Berlioz, Gounod and Meyerbeer bring out the dynamic devil in him.

Schrott knows how to change his voice’s colour, phrase by phrase, sometimes word by word, especially if the word is “Susanna”. As Figaro in the Mozart selections he’s attractively light and dancing; he can also drip with honey (Voici des roses from La Damnation de Faust) and scowl himself black (Meyerbeer’s Bertram, bound for Hell). Intimacy comes as easily, too, as the loud address: Philip’s monologue from Don Carlos (sung in French) conveys with unusual penetration the sense of someone thinking out loud, quiet and fearful.