. . . José Carreras is certainly caught in his prime in his two collections . . . [offering worthwhile rarities] in what is surely some of the most sheerly beautiful tenor singing from its period . . .

. . . a thrillingly urgent, flowing performance . . . Carrera's dulcet delivery of the last two lines [of "Una furtiva lagrima"] is admirable . . . [two Rossini pieces are] fittingly interpreted and [the] aria ringing.

José Carreras was in golden voice when he recorded these extracts from operas familiar and unfamiliar in his early 30s, his diction exemplary and his tone bright and immaculate.