Gaetano Majorano, known to the world simply as Caffarelli, was one of the most important castratos of the 18th century, "a pop star of his time", as countertenor Franco Fagioli writes in an introduction to this album of arias he inspired. It's a jaw-dropping disc. Fagioli is one of today's great vocal technicians, and the ease and almost superhuman agility with which he attacks some of the big bravura numbers are simply staggering. He is less effective, however, when it comes to slower numbers, which he sings with a refined purity of line, but not much expressive depth or intensity. The programme itself is also something of a mixed bag – deliberately so, perhaps, given that Caffarelli, a notorious show-off, could be indiscriminate in his choice of material. Arias by Pergolesi and Leonardo Leo leave you wanting more of the same. The omission of Handel, who wrote both Serse and Faramondo for Caffarelli, seems strange.