Faust was still popular when this performance was given at the Teatro Colon in 1971. Gavazzeni gives a surprisingly full account of the score. He makes the traditional cut towards the end of the Faust /Marguerite duet in Act Three, but gives us her "Il ne revient pas" scene as well as the Act Five Walpurgis Nacht minus the ballet. That's a lot of Faust!The cast is superb. Gedda sings with his usual finesse. The top C in "Salut! demeure" is held for an incredibly long time - the audience gets the message and rewards him with a long ovation. I don't know if there was anything Harper didn't sing well. Her Marguerite is no wilting flower, but a passionate young woman . She has, of course, a great top (essential for this role) and an excellent trill. She sings all three in the Jewel Song expertly. Her account of the extra aria justifies its inclusion. Ghiaurov's devil is hammy, but wonderful and he certainly has no trouble with the vocal demands. Robert (not Rene as written above) is a vivid Valentin and Africa De Retes a very strong Siebel (Gavazzeni takes her/his aria unusually slowly.) Luisa Bartoletti (no relation to the conductor Bruno Bartoletti) is a funny, well-sung Marthe.The disc breaks are well chosen and there is a generous filler of French arias sung by Gedda on disc three. The sound is mostly very good and is pitched correctly, but there are some glitches here and there. Myto had this in better sound, but it's long out-of-print.