In signing the young Swiss tenor Mauro Peter, Sony probably has an eye to his starrier labelmate – and yes, he and Jonas Kaufmann have a lot in common. Peter’s voice is beefy, gleaming yet burnished – not a million miles from the young Kaufmann’s, though Peter’s comfort zone lies a notch higher. Like Kaufmann before him, Peter is based at the star-nurturing Zurich Opera and is mentored by the pianist Helmut Deutsch, a lively, supportive partner in this generous selection of Schubert’s Goethe settings. Closely miked, Peter sometimes gives the impression of enunciating the words more than feeling them; Meeres Stille has intensity but not real stillness, Erlkönig drama but not distinct characterisation. Yet his assured delivery holds the attention throughout. Perhaps, like Kaufmann, at this early stage of his career, Peter is not yet the Lieder interpreter he will be. But what there is here is ample to be going on with.
