Plácido Domingo: The Latin Album Collection

Popular songs, ballads and light repertoire have always played a huge part in Plácido Domingo's career, from his first appearances on stage in his parents' zarzuela (operetta) company to his recent collaborations with stars such as Josh Groban and Susan Boyle. Some of his admirers have criticized him for this apparent betrayal of his operatic gift, but Domingo has always risen above such brickbats, and proudly defended his choices. "I know there were many who were purist about it," he has said. "But I don't care. I've given to the purists all my life. I have the right to enjoy these works."

And enjoy them he certainly does, as you can hear on these eight delightful discs of popular Spanish songs recorded between 1984 and 2002. Several are devoted to the works of just one pivotal composer: Siempre en mi corazón (CD 1) focuses on the evergreen hits of Cuban musician Ernesto Lecuona (1895-1963); Soñadores de España (CD 3) comprises songs by the Spaniard Manuel Alejandro (born in 1933), whose works have been high on the pop billboards from the 1960s and 1970s through to today; and Bajo el Cielo Español (CD 6) is made up of works by the Mexican composer Agustín Lara (1897 -1970), who achieved artistic immortality as the author of that seminal piece of Iberianism, Granada.

Other discs are themed around a particular genre or location: Adoro (CD 2) centres on Mexican songs in general, while 100 Years of Mariachi (CD 7) looks more closely at a particular sub-genre of folk music which has become the unofficial "national folk music of Mexico". The subtitle of CD 8 - "Canta, boleros, y mas" (Singing, boleros, and more') - also hints at the pervasiveness of dance music to the whole of the Spanish/Latin popular repertoire, and there are further tangos, boleros, and Spanish waltzes scattered throughout the rest of the discs, especially in the two volumes of De mi alma Latina (From My Latin Soul.) His dedication to this repertoire has paid off, not just in the adoration of his fans, but in recognition from the Latin American community. He has been awarded a Latin Grammy three times (in 2000, 2001 and 2008), and in 2010 he was named 'Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year.' Domingo's success in lighter music has been acknowledged in the original Grammys too. Siempre en mi corazón won a gong for Best Latin Pop Performance in 1984, and at the 2000 ceremony 100 Years of Mariachi was awarded the title Best Mexican-American Performance.