Tenor Salvatore Licitra recently made headlines when he stepped in at the last moment for the, sad to say, probably finished Luciano Pavarotti at the Metropolitan Operas final Toscas of the season. In fact, theres little Licitra could have done wrong under the circumstances, but he was a great success, and judging from his recent Trovatore and this recital CD, he will be most welcome. The good-sized, somewhat dark-hued voice is appealing--and truly Italian--with an innate caressing quality and sense of line, even from top to bottom (he takes the very low option in the Ballo Barcarolle, which most tenors take up an octave), and nice and free on top. He has no trouble sustaining the high tessitura (or big sound and broad phrases) of Alvaros aria from Forza; he sounds sincerely regretful as the caddish Pinkerton, and might even be the Dick Johnson (in Fanciulla) weve been looking for. This is an impressive debut recital, recommended for those who have been waiting for Italian opera to fall back into the hands of an Italian tenor. --Robert Levine