Now and then there are hints of another great Italian-style tenor, the stylish Alfredo Kraus. It's there in the hushed tone Grigolo adopts for the 'Favorita del re!...Spirto gentil' from La Favorita and Manrico's elegant swagger in the cabaletta 'Di quella pira'.

This is quite a test for the tenor who's had an outstanding year on stage, but one he passes with ease...Grigolo has developed from light to lyric tenor, and you feel there's more to come from this young voice already rich with plenty of colour and drama.

His bright, incisive tones modulate, soften and sweeten, yet the voice has a non-departmentalised consistency, a supple and expressive instrument in grief and gaiety, tenderness and anger...for a comparison, the young Bergonzi might come to mind, but Grigolo's expressiveness and imagination are quite his own.

he's clearly in love with his native language and his little rolled 'r's will make those who care about such things purr with pleasure

He's notably good at scamps, such as Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi, or tragic wits such as Riccardo in Un Ballo in Maschera, where you get a real sense of the laughter behind the passion. There are moments of wonderfully rapt introspection, too, in arias from Donizetti's La Favorita and Puccini's Le Villi.

Handsome, prolific and blessed with uncommon interpretive skills, Vittorio Grigolo is the most exciting young male talent in opera today...It's a marvellous collection, with Grigolo's dramatic abilities abundantly evident in the fruity relish with which he rolls each syllable round his mouth.

He lends suitable swagger to "Possente amor mi chiama" from Rigoletto and brings real tenderness to "Spirto gentil"...Grigolo is the real thing: a shining, stylish romantic hero in the great tradition of the Italian tenor, but with a warmer, more appealing persona for 21st-century audiences.

He can get overexcited, but shows musical sensibility in arias from La favorita, Rigoletto and Manon Lescaut, and his clear diction and firmly produced tone suggest solid technical foundations.

Grigolo’s voice is agile, unstrained, with colours stretching from dulcet cream to piercing red; and strikingly subtle volume control...when the voice needs to “ping”, it does so securely, with lively expression. It’s a good, steady album, and a worthy calling card.