Does classical music need superstars? Music critic and arts consultant Steve Metcalf writing in NewMusicBox.org thinks it does. “Or one, even,” he almost begs.

But what about Placido Domingo? Or the many great orchestras and conductors we have now, or does it go deeper?

Back in the 1950s, he writes, among performers, Toscanini, Heifetz, Maria Callas, and others, were known to almost everyone. Even as late as the 1980s, a classical performer could be truly famous. Now it’s different, he claims.

“If we speak of instrumentalists who can reliably sell out a house somewhere other than New York or L.A.,” Metcalf continues, “we have basically Yo-Yo (Ma). After that we have a roster of names that are known mostly to aficionados and the readers of Gramophone, but who are unknowns to everybody else. You don’t realize the extent to which this is true until you start working with and around people who pay no attention to serious music, which is most people these days. Try dropping the name Leif Ove Andsnes in your company cafeteria.”

Isn’t it great composers we need? There don’t seem to be many of those around now.

Stephen Walsh recalls the throngs that greeted the composer at concerts in America’s smaller towns and cities, not because they necessarily understood the music but because they wanted to see an icon.

Could crossover music have removed the gloss from the purely classical?

Yes, another new Placido recording, this time a collection of Neapolitan arias and songs (they mean the same thing, but sound so different).

Italia Ti Amo is on the DG label and, though I haven’t heard it yet, I trust the opinion of David Mellor, who has:

“The warmest of welcomes for Domingo’s other new CD, Italia Ti Amor, which is his first attempt at Neapolitan songs. It’s an unhackneyed collection — no Santa Lucia, for instance, which Domingo thinks should be left to pizzeria waiters — and he sings most beautifully, casting off the yoke of the years in these ardent love songs.”

This is a limited edition, so rush out to get it if it’s your cup of Frascati.

Check out the price. In North America. In the UK.

Placido Domingo may have reached the veteran stage in his career, but he’s still capable of producing a great performance. This new CD set from DG taken from performances at the Vienna Staatsoper last June proves that.

Some Wagner purists may scoff at his German pronunciation, but so what? He’s still a class act, probably the best acting tenor in opera. Here, the Vienna State Opera is conducted by Christian Thielemann.

David Mellor remarks: “For Thielemann, this is something of a triumph. Long held as the savior of German conducting, he has performed fitfully, the mantle of Karajan wholly eluding him … now, as he nears his 50th birthday, he is finally becoming the real deal.”

If, like me, Parsifal is your favorite opera, this four-CD set will be high on your wanted list.

Check out the price: In North America. In the UK.