This is a generous 11 tracks (80 minutes) containing the overtures of some of the world's most popular comic operas.
Sadly, they are now less played in the concert hall.
But they are filled with gorgeous tunes culled from the whole work as exciting samples, with brilliant orchestration and often race-to-the-finish endings that were written to warm up an audience with their mix of themes.
The comic opera genre had its roots in 18th-century Italian opera buffa, and its popularity was soon taken up elsewhere.
In France it produced opera comique and operetta, in German-speaking countries ''spieloper'' and in Vienna operetta.
Featured overtures here are Herold's dramatic Zampa, the delicacy of Wolf-Ferrari's Susanna's Secret and the vivid colour of Lortzing's Zar und Zimmermann.
But differences in style are not really noticeable, except for the overture to Il matrimonio segreto, by Domenico Cimarosa (1749-1801), the sole example from the Classical era.
The other overtures are by Nicolai (The Merry Wives of Windsor), Thomas (Mignon), Von Reznicek, Von Flotow, Auber, Adam, and Cornelius.
Even if the operas are now seldom staged, such items are particularly good (in small doses) to introduce a young audience to classical music.
This CD may help stage a revival in interest in such sweeteners.
The audience-pleasers are well-played by the Scottish orchestra under the baton of Lance Friedel.
The programme brings back memories of Arthur Fiedler with the Boston Pops and Leonard Bernstein with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra using this repertoire to make spectacular and popular recordings in the 1950s and '60s for RCA and CBS respectively.
Highlight: Vivid music with many tunes.
