From American bass Kevin Short, this intriguing program exploring the character Mephistopheles in his different operatic iterations is a fine addition to the catalogue. If that doesn’t sound quite enough to whet your appetite, never fear – he ventures into song and some rarer corners of the repertoire to present a juicy tasting plate that will leave you wanting more.

First off, it’s a compelling sound that has the decibels for Alberich but enough flexibility for the florid party pieces. Short isn’t necessarily somebody with a great range of colour to access, but his word painting and facility with languages more than makes up for it.

His French is...