The stars are the same like in the performance in Napoli three years earlier which is also available from OperaDepot. The conductor is different, this performance is conducted by Oliviero de Fabritiis who was the conductor of the second commercial record from this opera (with Caniglia, Gigli and Bechi). De Fabritiis in very familiar in this music and leads the performance with great passion. Stella, Corelli and Bastianini are excellent in their roles. I don't think that we would be able to hear such singers today. The supporting singers are also very goods especially Carbonari and Pandano. The sound is more than acceptable. Highly recommended!

Andrea Chenier is still performed nowadays usually when the likes of Jonas Kaufmann and Marcelo Alvarez are available, but no one sings this opera like these singers do and I'm not speaking of just the leads. These are native Italians and they have this music, this style in their blood. De Fabritiis had conducted this for Gigli's studio recording 20 years earlier and there's little he doesn't know about how to shape this music or pace it. Corelli is thrilling. The top notes ring out with that squillo that made him famous and he is a passionate poet to boot. Stella, not even thirty when this was performed, is a gem of a Maddalena. I wish she would scream when the composer asks her to before "La mama morta", but she never did, preferring to give us more tears. Nevertheless she is just as passionate as her colleagues. Bastianini has that gorgeous baritone that he uses with skill, if without the greatest imagination. There are no weaknesses in the supporting cast: everyone sings and acts as if their lives depended on it.If Andrea Chenier is to come to life, it needs to be sung by singers like these. The sound is very good although the very first notes of each act are missing. There is some minor radio crackle here and there, but it's very brief. Verismo fans must get this!

Stella, born March 15, 1929, was 32 when this performance was given - oops!

The performance was, of course, magnificent. It’s fun to hear one from The Old Days, when they used to take bows after the big arias and, the claques keeping the applause going on and on. All ‘round, sound is perfect considering the time period. Being a true fan of the greatest performers of “ago,” I’m truly blessed to have found Opera Depot.