“ROSSINI RECITAL: MARILYN HORNE.� Martin Katz, piano....

“ROSSINI RECITAL: MARILYN HORNE.� Martin Katz, piano. BMG Classics 09026-60811-2. This release is one of the last of the Rossini centennial celebrations on disc and one of the most impressive. Horne, husbanding her once-formidable vocal resources carefully, still gives pleasure. She wisely does not venture above the staff much these days but compensates with more attention to expressive content, as in seven of the almost 50 settings of Metastasio’s “Mi lagnero tacendo� included here. The agility, if a bit more effortful than before, is still satisfying, particularly in the “Canzonetta Spagnuola,� as well as a newfound lyricism typified in “A ma belle mere.� Katz, Horne’s longtime partner, makes the piano almost breathe with the singer.

WAGNER: “Der Ring des Nibelungen,� orchestral excerpts; “Immolation� Scene. Deborah Polaski, soprano; Chicago Symphony, conducted by Daniel Barenboim. Erato 2292-45786-2. It is always a pleasure to hear this music performed by one of the world’s finest orchestras. The sheen on the strings, the virtuosic brass and the mellow woodwinds are cause for wonder. Unfortunately, what is lacking is a forceful conductor. Barenboim projects no overall line and little majesty or grandeur. The Valkyries seem to ride by the numbers. There is no magic in the forest murmurs. Worst is Siegfried’s funeral march, completely lacking in terror or a sense of the loss of a hero. There is precious little ecstasy in Barenboim’s reading of the “Immolation,� and he is not helped by the disappointing contribution of Polaski. Her soprano, though apparently large enough, is spread, wobbly and sometimes off-pitch. The entire effort sounds like a first-time rehearsal run-through, early in the morning.

VERDI: “Luisa Miller.� Aprile Millo, Placido Domingo, Vladimir Chernov, Florence Quivar, Paul Plishka, Jan Hendrik Rootering, others; forces of Metropolitan Opera, James Levine, conductor. Sony S2K 48073. This middle-period Verdi oppra stands on its own as a work of distinction and, in the last act, of inventive and expressive greatness. The recording is only partially successful in conveying its qualities. Millo is unusual among youngish American sopranos in that the Italian language obviously means much to her, and she projects it faultlessly. However, overuse or inadequate technique has given the voice a worn, shrill quality in forte passages at the top. Her soft singing, critical to the last act, remains enchanting. Domingo is in good voice, although there are hints in his aria of some sonic enhancements; the whole color of the voice in this section seems changed. The promising Chernov, as the old father, sounds younger than anyone and revels in the legato and bravura demands of his part. Rootering, an imaginative Walter, gives dimension to a part that presages King Philip. Levine’s work is superficial. Here the overture is actually raucous, as are some of the rushed ensembles. He is at his best in the last act.

“JUSSI BJORLING: ARIAS AND SONGS WITH ORCHESTRA.� Jussi Bjorling, tenor; Nils Grevillius, conductor. Nimbus 7835. For sheer beauty of sound, Bjorling had few peers in his lifetime, and he was superior to his Italian rivals in matters of taste, musicianship and purity of style. These recordings cover the first 10 years of his professional life. The voice seems to have been naturally placed from the beginning; it’s all of a piece, whether at the bottom, the middle or top. Essentially lyric, he could take it into the dramatic realm (“Aida�) with no strain or lack of quality. It had the characteristic that the great baritone Giuseppe de Luca said all great voices do: a certain sadness. Bjorling always had vocal poise, if not total confidence at the outset. His 1934 “Di quella pira� is taken down a tone, but five years later he could do it with a ringing top C, and in 1938 he could belt the often-avoided high D-flat of Rossini’s “Cujus animam� with abandon. As years passed he phrased with more subtlety and imagination, but even as a very young man he commanded a mezza voce many veterans never master. Not one track fails to give immense pleasure, and it hardly matters that more than half are in Swedish. Bjorling’s longtime collaborator, Grevillius, provides warm, idiomatic support.