Alfie Boe - Love Was a Dream - Scotland on Sunday

Alfie Boe's rough-hewn looks might make him an unlikely operetta hero, but his voice is eminently suited to the role, as this recording of songs by Franz Lehár demonstrates.

However, the CD takes a little getting used to, and not just because of his rendition of Vilia from The Merry Widow, a song usually sung by the heroine. Rather, it's the fact that all his songs are sung in English that makes one pause: the words may fit, the rhymes may be clever, but the effect slightly distracts from the charms of Boe's light tenor voice, for all its flexibility and sweetness. Nevertheless, it's highly worthwhile, reminiscent of early Richard Tauber.