A good performance with the fabulously gifted Elena Souliotis at the peak of her career.... ruined by very poor recording even by 1969 standards!

What must it have felt like to be singing Norma, the most challenging role in all of the bel canto repertoire, when you're barely 26 years old? Souliotis' rise in the opera world was so swift one wonders if she even was cognizant of how difficult the role is. She met the challenge head on and her supple, colorful instrument shines as Bellini's heroine. She has it all: flexibility, temperament, imagination. What doesn't quite have is the stamina to see her through all aspects of the role. Her "Casta diva" is exciting, the polonaise "Ah, non tremare" hair-raising as she nails the two top C's as if they were child's play. She caps the Act One finale with a top D and in the second act duets very well with Cossotto. If the finale is a little less impressive it's only because she audibly tires before the end of this marathon role.Cossotto is superb, matching Souliotis note for note in a collegial manner that she noticeably does not adopt when singing with Sutherland in Buenos Aires later the same year. There she challenges Dame Joan's high D in the Act One finale with a cutting high B, a note she dispenses with here. Limarilli sings very well; he'd go a lot farther today. Vinco's Oroveso is well-liked by the audience. The sound is uneven, mostly good, but noticeably fluctuating in volume several times. There is some file corruption (clicking) during the first duet for the ladies. Fortunately, it only lasts a minute or so.Give Souliotis a chance - you won't regret it!

I liked all the singers. I loved young, powerful and dramatic Suliotis (she was not even 26 years old on this recording), elegant phrasing of Cossotto, powerful and heroic Limarilli, reliable Vinco. Bartoletti and orchestra good.