Excellent performance, note-complete, in beautiful broadcast sound! While some listeners may prefer a different tone quality in the title role, Ingrid Bjoner shines, bringing voluminous reserves of sound to her music. Known for her Turandot-- which she broadcast from the Met in the 1970s-- she is just as powerful and fearless as Beethoven's loyal heroine. The voice can be slightly glassy, in common with many Nordic singers, but her determination, musically and dramatically, wins the day. Her spoken dialogue, while perhaps not as incisive as some of her colleagues,' is nonetheless phonated with bite and strength. James King is equally fine, singing with his customary heroic ring, and impressing, as he always did, with his stamina and with a consistently manly core to the voice. The lovely Swiss soprano Edith Mathis is surely the perfect Marzelline, Franz Crass her lovably kind father, and luxury casting, certainly, to have both Ingvar Wixell and Tom Krause as villain and overlord, respectively. It is at times easy to overlook Karl Boehm's achievements outside the Straussian canon, but here he is in his element. He brings symphonic expertise to the score-- the Leonore no. 3 is perfectly measured and played-- and otherwise guides with a knowing hand and pulse. As expected, the Wiener Philharmoniker more than lives up to its storied reputation, as well, under Boehm's leadership. This superb performance-- a time capsule of a period long vanished-- is one to which I will return often, as I predict others will, too. Highly recommended!