It’s a brave man who steps into the shoes recently vacated by “Big Lucy” and certainly no one could accuse Vittorio Grigolo of timidity. For his second Sony album, the former Sistine Chapel choirboy with the matinee idol looks has nailed his colours firmly to the mast with a selection of popular arias and Italian song. In his sleeve note Grigolo cites Gigli’s influence but also, tellingly, popular tenor Claudio Villa.

So how does it stack up? First off, the opera: Grigolo certainly has all the notes. He also has a fast, but not intrusive vibrato. My two quibbles concern a tendency to be below the note at medium volume and another to scoop up to notes in the upper part of his voice. Listen to his La Donna E Mobile for an example of what I mean. This is a pity as he is a good vocal actor and he tops it off with a terrific bravura high B. Elsewhere he offers us a most sensitive Lamento Di Federico from Cilea’s L’Arlesiana, proving that with a little control he can manage any vocal waywardness.

Where this CD really takes off, though, is with the “popular” songs. Here Grigolo has the style to a tee and with these numbers being on the whole sung at forte, any problems of pitch are far less evident. Grigolo describes his album as “a box of chocolates” but don’t let the top layer put you off – it’s the bottom layer that’s worth the wait.