There were some technical problems, and the prompter could be heard, but these were probably due to the venue. It was great to hear Gabriella Tucci, probably the finest verismo soprano of the 1960s. Nicolai Ghiaurov was suitably malevolent. The glory of the performance was Carlo Bergonzi's Faust - thrilling singing with expansive top notes. Wonderful to have this performance.

Bergonzi is incredible as Faust. It is not a stretch to say that the role can not be sung better! His poetic phrasing makes the text come to life. Ghiaurov is a powerhouse in the title role. This final scene with him and Bergonzi is one for the ages. Tucci was great and underrated soprano. Her voice suits Boito’s music in style and interpretation.

The four leads in this performance all live up to their reputations. Ghiaurov is in splendid voice and conjurs up a storm of stage presence. His voice at this stage in his career had some squillo on top that he would lose as he got older. His whistles are wonderfully defiant and he doesn't overplay the part. Bergonzi is a perfect mixture of Faust the scholar and Faust the playboy. He gives us a terrific high B in the last scene. The audience adores him.Tucci is very good as Margarita. Her final aria is so sad: here is a young woman with so much potential, defeated by a mistake she made in choosing a lover. Simona Dall'Argine is probably best known for her studio recording of Tosca in 1951 (an excellent, underrated set.) She actually makes something of Elena, a role that usually goes for nothing. She has the cavernous low note in her aria and a ringing top C in the ensemble that concludes Act Four. Capuana was an underrated conductor who holds his forces together well (not easy in this venue.) The prompter also deserves a mention for his enthusiastic coaching. The choral work is very good though it probably would have been more organized in a smaller theater.The sound is mostly very good, but there are minor blips throughout: volume fluctuations, radio crackles, etc. It's listenable though and worth it for this cast. There is terrible and unnecessary sidebreak (it should have come between scenes.)Fans of this opera or these singers should get this!

This performance captures the artists at their absolute prime. All the singers deliver in spades but the reason I ordered this recording was to hear one of my favorite tenors as Faust, Carlo Bergonzi. His is a portrayal not duplicated in my experience. He brings all his wonderful vocal technique to the lyrical aspects of the role as well as the heroic heft when needed. What a gem! Sound is fine; only annoyance is the very enthusiastic prompter clearly audible throughout. If you favor this opera, hear this recording for certain.

Ghiaurov on the peak of his vocal power!

Only for Bergonzi, what a singer.

Nicolai Chiaurov's only studio recording of this opera was completed in 1982, by which time the great voice had diminished considerably, and in spite of the fact he was singing with his relative new wife Mirella Freni, he seemed disinterested in the whole project. If you wish to hear him at his best vocally and dramatically committed, this is the recording.His Faust is Bergonzi. His beautiful and liquid phrasing are ideal for the poet Faust. The great plus for me is Grabriella Tucci as Margherita. She has made too few studio recordings as she possessed a musical intelligence and a voice of beauty and purity which was totally feminine. The voice which is essentially lyrical and convincing as the virginal Margherita possesses an exciting "cut through" power.The sound is very good although occasionally marred by a too prominent prompter.

What a wonderful conductor Franco Capuana was! There were so many underrated Italian conductors of Italian opera active in the second quarter of the 20th century, conductors dismissed as routiniers because they made their careers in the opera house conducting Italian opera, and Capuana was one of the finest. Moreover, he turns in a more lively and distinctive performance here than in the Urania studio recording from the early 1950’s. In this repertory, I’ll take the Capuana’s of the world over Karajan, Solti, Carlos Kleiber, Abbado, and Muti any day of the week. Capuana conducts with both the requisite energy and a consummate grasp of Boito’s style, phrasing beautifully at every turn. For me, the weak link here is Ghiaurov. Ghiaurov fans accustomed to his performances from the period will not be disappointed, and the basic instrument was magnificent, of course, but I dislike his over the top theatrics, and I find his approach excessively coarse and unsubtle. Fortunately, Tucci and Bergonzi more than make up for it. Bergonzi’s performance is everything you’d expect from this sensitive and passionate but essentially patrician musician during his best years, and Tucci proves to be a viable partner. She may not have had the smoothest technique or the most gorgeous instrument, but the rôle of Margherita is not all that demanding vocally, and unlike her contemporary, Tebaldi, Tucci consistently sang in tune. She doesn’t really sound like a young and ingenuous girl, which Tebaldi certainly did, but she turns in a very sensitive and expressive performance. The recorded sound is not quite as good as I had expected, but you can hear what’s going on well enough to discern that Tucci, Bergonzi, and Capuana were first rate musicians reared in the Italianate style necessary to project this piece.