If you like the Bel Canto period, this is for you. Two amazing female leads and a very good cast overall. The sound is also very, very good. We tend to forget now-a-days how good those singers were, and they didn't have the microphones and recording equipment that we have today..

Great. I recently discovered Leyla Gencer and she is terrific. And Simionato is quite simply the greatest mezzo ever. What a combination!

This is the Scala production created around Maria Callas. Simionato if anything is better here than with Callas; she seems more settled into the character. Clabassi has been promoted from Rochefort to King and is very welcome in the role, replacing the unfortunately wobbly Rossi-Lemeni. I also like this Smeton better than a more matronly and not completely steady Carturan. As for Gencer, her only fault in the role is that she followed Callas in one of her greatest triumphs. (I don't know of a single soprano who doesn't suffer by comparison with Callas in the same repertoire.) Gencer, at least from the two video examples I've seen, was a more convincing singer than actor. While Callas *was* Anna in every way, Gencer sings the part wonderfully throughout. Once I turn off the memory of Callas in the role and focus on the performance at hand, I have no complaints at all and I remain a devoted Gencer fan. Excellent all round.