When Karita Mattila disrobes anew in the Met’s Salome this week, the man she’s aiming to bag, John the Baptist, will be played by a fellow Finn, company newcomer Juha Uusitalo. A monumental stage figure in the tradition of such Finnish Wagnerians as Martti Talvela and Matti Salminen, the bass-baritone arrives with a bushel of positive reviews praising his singing and artistry in hard-to-cast heroic roles, in such major operatic centers as Milan, Munich and San Francisco.

One hopes that his Salome performances will equal that reputation, rather than draw forth the mixed emotions inspired by this disc of Wagner scenes. Uusitalo is no beginner, having participated in Gustav Kuhn’s 1999 live recording of Siegfried. His diction is clear and idiomatic; his voice, rather nasal but quite handsome, is solidly if monochromatically produced. But there’s no animating spark. Uusitalo is also seriously undermined by Leif Segerstam’s uninspired conducting, and the often jarringly close microphone placement causes an alternation of hectoring and whispering.

In any case, mid-scene bleeding chunks like the Parsifal monologues and five minutes ripped from Siegfried’s Wanderer/Erda colloquy do not make for rewarding home listening, unless the singer is a supreme interpreter like Friedrich Schorr. (And should 12 minutes have been devoted to the Flying Dutchman overture?) Still, if Uusitalo’s career develops in accordance with his talent, he may eventually issue a Wagner album worth owning.

Juha Uusitalo appears in Salome at the Metropolitan Opera Fri 26–Oct 16.

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