SONGS BY TOSTI, ROTOLI, BROGI AND DENZA:...

SONGS BY TOSTI, ROTOLI, BROGI AND DENZA: Ruggero Raimondi, bass; I Solisti Veneti conducted by Claudio Scimone. Erato NUM-75171 (digital). If its limited charms are to be savored, the turn-of-the-century Italian salon air requires a considerably more personalized response than it meets in Raimondi’s soporific singing. The recital includes the traditional numbers (“Ideale,” “Occi di Fata”), but the grainy, monochromatic vocalism makes it a non-contender. Scimone summons the customary violins and mandolins, but the arrangements are surprisingly tasteful.