For fans of Collier this is essntial. It is good to hear her in full flight in a role suited to her. Varnay does a great Kostelnicka.

I had forgotten what a searing, heartbreaking, but ultimately uplifting opera this is, not having heard it in quite a while. This performance is excellent with vivid characterizations and, for the most part, crisp diction. I had no trouble following Richard Cassilly at all and only rarely had difficulty understanding Astrid Varnay. This is the version of the score that predates Sir Charles Mackerras' investigation into Janacek's original score so we don't get the Kostelnicka's extended monologue in the first Act, explaining why she doesn't want Jenufa to marry Steva.Varnay gives a frightening, desperate performance that she would refine further over the next five years or so. She is dramatic, but never melodramatic, her voice full of acid, but still steady, the top still huge. Several commenters here have been less than pleased with Collier's performance, but I found her very touching, especially in the last act. Cassilly makes a sturdy Laca, Lanigan an oily Steva. The two voices contrast well with each other. Kubelik leads a convincing performance that builds in intensity until the shattering final scene.The sound is from a fairly good broadcast tape with only some minor sonic congestion here and there.

Cutting through decent, but not great, broadcast sound is the inimitable voice of Astrid Varnay, demonstrating why she was the preeminent Kostelnicka of the 1960s and 1970s. She's indelible as a pillar of society ultimately toppled by her blinkered sense of self-righteousness. Equally unforgettable is Richard Cassilly's Laca, heartbreakingly vulnerable in his initially unrequited love for Jenufa and singing the English text with crystal clarity (as does Varnay). Marie Collier is not in this class, the acidic edge to her tone militating sympathy for the title character. That being said, she's leagues ahead of John Lanigan, whose puling *Pearstenor* makes ladies-man Steva's tonal and sensual appeal utterly mystifying. The strong supporting cast includes David Kelly and Janet Coster as the boorish Mayor and his wife, Otakar Kraus (Mill Foreman) and Elizabeth Bainbridge (Grandmother Burya). Ex-Covent Garden music director Rafael Kubelik leads his former orchestra with tremendous drive and idiomatic color.

Varnay in her debut in Jenufa, how better can it get. Cassilly once again shows he is totally in character and again that wonderful diction. Lanigan is just over the hill but was a very fine actor. Collier for me is not good in this, the voice seems too fragile and not in good shape. Kubelik is very good,yet listen to Mackerras in this too see the difference.