Thomas Hampson and Samuel Ramey: "No Tenors Allowed" (Teldec)

Real men, reads the subtext of this stylish-looking CD, don't spend their time yodelling about with Nessun Dorma and paddling under the Rialto serenading a nutty-flavoured ice cream. Oh, no: real men (note the Men in Black pose adopted by the two lads on the cover) come in two flavours - baritone and bass. "The real movers and shakers of the world of opera," as the sleeve notes put it. Which is all very amusing and even plausible, as long as you have singers who can deliver the goods; and from the moment they open their mouths, Hampson and Ramey do just that, producing an unusual and utterly charming programme of duets from Italian operas. Passionate exchanges, mouth-watering melodies, thrilling high notes - take my word for it, you won't feel the need of a tenor throughout this 73 minutes of top-notch virtuoso display. They begin with a cheeky little Cimarosa, then hit the heights (literally) with the hilarious Cheti, cheti immantinente from Donizetti's Don Pasquale before moving to the same composer's shady side for a stirring revenge piece from Marino Faliero. The tempo slows with a chunk of Bellini's I Puritani before moving in for the kill with a selection of Verdi duets whose climax is the sublime 10-minute tearjerker, Restez! from Don Carlos. The final track, from an obscure early Verdi opera, is a delightful bit of Rossini-esque nonsense which closes this terrific CD on just the right note of wry humour - and sends you right back to the beginning to hear it all again.