The music of František Jan Škroup (1801–1862) is hardly mainstream anymore, though in his day he was a very successful composer (Czechs will probably remember him for writing the music for the Czech National Anthem). He composed a number of operas and singspiels, however, of which Columbus (1955) was one of the last – it was never performed in his lifetime and was considered lost until 1942. Musically it reminds one mostly of Weber and early Wagner (pre-Dutchman) with some imaginative touches of Smetana (though the influence must surely have been the other way around), and Škroup seems to have had an ear for dramatic pacing, fine melodies and effective ensembles. Unfortunately what we get here are some selections, and it is a bit difficult to determine how much is missing. What we do get, however, includes some very effective, even powerful numbers (especially the final two tracks) that any lover of early romantic opera would want to hear. Indeed, on the evidence of the strength of the music here I would happily investigate a complete Škroup opera if any were ever made available. That said, this is, in the end, a specialist issue. The performances are good (and fans of Czech opera will probably recognize several of the names), but the 1962 sound is not much above acceptable; add to that the obvious fact that this is a collection of selections, and the absence of a libretto (we get a synopsis only), and you do, perhaps, need to have some special interest to investigate. That is no fault of the music of performances per se, however.