A purchaser's review:
In a sense this disc is so good that you can't help but feeling somewhat sad. Let me explain myself. This is a Verdi year, so the market is full of "hommage to Verdi" cds. You listen to them and you sincerely try to find all sorts of justifications in order to like them, not to "live in the past", as they say. You do that and you, sometimes even unconsciously, make one thousand concessions and you end up saying "ok this is not perfect, but all things considered, it should be appreciated for so and so reason. And then, you come across a recording such as this one, of an opera that is, unjustifiably, not in the great 10, say. And you are blown away, totally. You are blown away by the melody, the conducting, the singing, the drama, absolutely everything. I get so often criticised for finding faults with singers like Netrebko or Kaufmann. But, seriously, if we haste to call these singers great, what are we going to do with Leontyne Price and Carlo Bergonzi? Then, they say "you shouldn't make comparisons". Well, it is not possible to avoid comparisons. This disc is a model of great Verdi singing and interpretation. I do not think there has been a greater Verdian singer in the recorded history of opera than Leontyne Price. Whether it is Forza, Trovatore, Ernani, Aida the woman knows her business. There is no kidding here. Carlo Berngonzi rises to the challenge 100%. Thomas Schippers left all TOO young. He had SO MUCH to give.