Joan Sutherland is outstanding in this performance as noted by other reviewers. Worth getting to enjoy and appreciate. There are other bass baritones I prefer in this role to Richard Cross. I love Richard Verreau's voice -- that's actually what brought me to get yet another recording of Faust. Unfortunately, he seems to have been having an off night, although his French and style are for me outstanding until his voice begins to fade. The chorus is ragged and actually almost funny at times, but not intentionally so. Balances are sometimes odd based on wherever the mic was positioned in house for the live capture.

Sutherland sang many new roles in the 1960s and Marguerite didn't come her way often. She got to sing it a number of times during the famous tour of Australia the same year as this performance and for the famous studio recording. She is marvelous. Of course the top notes are thrilling as well as the trills in the Jewel Song, but she is also dramatically involved, giving the lie to those who insist she "just stood there and sang". Verreau is a good, if not particularly polished Faust and Cross enjoys himself as Mephistopheles. I wish he had pitched his laughs at the end of his Serenade the way Gounod asked him to rather than shouting them like a stereotypical Halloween devil. Elkins and Opthof sing very well too as does the uncredited Martha. As was his wont Bonynge makes some different textual choices. The Act Three duet for Faust and Marguerite is played uncut and the extra music for them in the prison scene is sung here too. Elkins is given one verse of Siebel's "Si la bonheur" before Faust and Mephistopheles arrive in Act Four and the church scene is placed after Valentin's death as in the original score. There is no Walpurgis Night, but we can hear that on the studio recording. The last minute of the performance after Mephistopheles' "Jugee!" is missing.With all respect to Nador (below) I thought the pitch of the tape used for this transfer was correct; certainly everyone sounds like themselves. The sound is not great, but certainly listenable.

Unfortunately this recording is running on a too high pitch - almost a semitone up. Very annoying because it leads to a false impression of the vocal quality of all the voices making them sound lighter and more lightweight. Pity, Sutherland was in great voice here.