Leoncavallo

    Si puņ ? Si puņ ?

        The highlight of the evening. Dmitri sang full voice with a daring interpretation.  At the "un nido di memorie" he reverted to piano which gives a whole other meaning to the song and at the closing, boy, he hit the high notes and the voice echoed in the theatre, the audience gasped. When he finished, the audience stood to their feet and applauded vociferously. This is a role he should definitely record (but not with Muti, he'd cut the high notes :-)).
 

Gounod

    Avant de quitter ces lieux from Faust

        A cold shower after the prologue. Not exactly memorable but well sung. I wish he had gone from piano to forte at the end but he sang it forte.
 

Bellini

    A per sempre io ti perdei from I Puritani

        Excellent, on  a par with the Pagliacci prologue. He showed that this is a role he by now knows quite a bit (having sung it many times). Used pianissimos to the right effect. Good command of bel canto style.
 

Verdi

    Eri Tu from Un Ballo In Maschera

        Good, but he still needs working here. He does not seem to know this role so well. Renato in this aria is tormented by jealousy and love for his wife and his greatest friend and idol. The only baritone to do justice to this aria is Tito Gobbi. Anyway, he showed he's an excellent Verdian baritone with the right voice for the role. If only he'd study it with Giulini or Muti !!!

    Io morrņ from Don Carlos

        Good, better than Un Ballo. He's already sung this role (and recorded it for Philips) and it shows. But I also heard Renato Bruson sing it (a couple of years ago) and I still have his interpretation on my mind, much better than Dmitri's probably because he's Italian and knows Verdi by nature.