No second names are needed in the title to tell music lovers who is singing in this gala recital. The original; audio-only Cecilia & Bryn: Duets; issued in 1999; had opera-lovers around the world echoing one Amazon.com customer's remark: "After listening to this album; all I could say was 'I want more.'" Here it is: a live performance with the same conductor; an even better orchestra; and a video dimension that brings out the singers' considerable acting skills. There is some duplication of the CD's contents: "La ci darem;" "Dunque io son;" and the "Pa-pa-pa-papagena" duet from The Magic Flute; as well as the opening numbers of The Marriage of Figaro. But the video cameras; the singers' gestures; and their facial expressions make the duplication worthwhile.

Cecilia Bartoli is most at home in mezzo-soprano material; where her tone is particularly rich and natural; her style exactly what the music requires. But she also slips easily into the soprano roles of Zerlina; Papagena; and Susanna. She takes a tantalizing step into promising; relatively unfamiliar territory with an aria from Haydn's L'anima del filosofo. Bryn Terfel shows a significant comic flair in the "catalog aria" from Don Giovanni and a heroic dimension in an aria from Judas Maccabeus--in either style; displaying a voice that is pure gold.

Still; vocal material is relatively scanty in this 90-minute production compared to the CD. Two overtures are included and are well played; but are not likely to appease fans who will continue to call for more singing. --Joe McLellan