New on CDs: Operas From Gershwin to Verdi

“DOMINGO AT THE PHILHARMONIC.” Placido Domingo, tenor; Adrian Morelli, soprano; New York Philharmonic conducted by Zubin Mehta. CBS Masterworks MK44942. This sound track from a 1988 telecast is tailored for fans of the Spanish tenor. Less-partisan listeners will be less enthralled. Domingo is in refulgent estate, but the pops nature of the occasion seems a pretext for punching out all the material, whether it be Verdi, Giordano or Lehar. It’s all rather oppressive, though Morelli makes a distinctively dark-toned contribution to Mascagni’s “Cherry” duet. Mehta’s performance of “Capriccio Espagnol” does nothing but kill time. The Avery Fisher Hall acoustics are fatiguing.