Described by Jean de Reszke as ‘the true redeemer of bel canto singing’, the Irish tenor John McCormack (1884–1945) had an extensive operatic career in his early years, singing at Covent Garden and both the Manhattan and Metropolitan opera houses in New York. Many of the arias from his early rôles, including excerpts from Verdi’s Rigoletto, Gounod’s Faust, Bizet’s Les Pêcheurs de Perles, and Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia, are featured on this disc. Along with the operatic items there are several beloved Irish songs, including such favourites as Believe Me If All Those Endearing Young Charms, She is Far from the Land, and Molly Bawn.