Tenor José Carreras doesn't just sing in concerts, such as Saturday's Civic Theatre program. He also sings in front of microphones, reaching an international audience through recordings. Here are a couple of examples of recent CDs:

The album cover touts the tenors' 1998 Paris outing as "the concert of the century." The concert of the moment is more like it. Recorded July 10, with the Metropolitan Opera's James Levine conducting the Orchestre de Paris, the program was performed before hundreds of thousands of listeners, and broadcast to an international audience that was estimated at 1 billion.

But it's hard to get too excited about the resulting CD. It's the latest product of an artistic industry -- a mostly so-so amalgam of songs, show tunes and arias, some of them unabashedly obscure.

Carreras summons handsome tones in an excerpt from Pietri's "Maristella," despite a vibrato that's sometimes excessively wide. Pavarotti struggles to achieve his fabled luster in Puccini's "Nessun Dorma," and occasionally succeeds. Domingo sounds strongest, adding spirited finesse to the "Medley of the World," which ranges from Schubert to Rodgers and Hammerstein.

The three tenors may have been past their prime in Paris, but as long as they have each other, and a receptive global audience, they will likely continue to draw big crowds to their performances in the years ahead.

José Carreras, "The Best of José Carreras" (Erato)

The best? Probably not. This CD embraces easy listening, rather than major aesthetic challenges. The emphasis is on tuneful fare, mostly recycled from previous albums and served up by Carreras with smoothly professional aplomb.

The two new items -- "I Have a Dream" (credited to Nasco/Kovatchev/Thim) and "Per Silvia," by Bizzarri/Marcucci -- aren't much. "With a Song in My Heart" -- the Rodgers and Hart standard that receives lavish treatment, complete with chorus -- is more solidly crafted. And when Carreras teams with Barbara Dickson in "All I Ask of You," from Lloyd Webber's "The Phantom of the Opera," the tenor turns in a performance of nearly operatic stature.

Copyright © 1998 Union-Tribune Publishing Co.