I hadn’t ever heard of William Matteuzzi before seeking out performances of Tosti’s romanze — but what a shaded and elegant delivery he brings to this lilting setting of D’Annunzio‘s “O falce di luna calante”! Though we tend to encounter romanze like these tacked on to the end of recital programs in the most congratulatory way, Matteuzzi brings a much more meditative spirit and a firm, flexible voice.

And how often do we hear tenors scream their way through Tosti and D’Annunzio’s most famous collaboration, “L’alba separa dalla luce l’ombra,” if is they’re trying to frighten the moon out of the sky rather than seduce the sun into it? Not so with Matteuzzi, perhaps the most under-appreciated of tenors of the late 20th-century bel canto heyday.

For what it’s worth, Respighi set the same twelve-line poem, though he clearly interpreted the erotic stillness of the scene differently than Tosti.