Danil Shtoda Queen's Hall

The Russian tenor Daniil Shtoda is something of a phenomenon – still in his early twenties, he evinces a command of vocal technique of quite remarkable maturity. His sell-out recital of Russian songs was a marvellous chance to experience a repertoire that is not too well known in English-speaking countries, with a range of composers from the classical elegance of Glinka and Dargomyzhsky to the passionate romanticism of Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov.

A typically hard-edged, rather nasal Russian voice, it seemed as yet to have little depth and resonance, and there was a slightly forced quality at times – but then, 11am is rather early in the day for singing. There were some gems in the programme, like Dargomyzhsky's heartfelt "I am Sad", and the touchingly simple Pushkin setting, "The Statue at Tsars-koye Selo" by Cui. Love, mostly, was the theme, and Shtoda warmed to the outpourings of Rachmaninov, with excellent control of high notes in songs like "How Peaceful" and the haunting, slightly exotic "O fair maiden". He excelled in beautiful Tchaikovsky numbers like "Nightingale" and "In the Early Spring". Hardworking accompanist Larissa Gergieva responded to his every nuance, and the audience's response was ecstatic . "O youth! O hopes!" indeed.