This Catania performance is no take-the-money-and-run affair. For one thing, conductor Ferruccio Scaglia has seemingly made a fresh study of the score and come up with tempo choices that may surprise you. Elena Suliotis sings with remarkable purity of tone, her customary "power pitching" (pun intended) held in abeyance for the most part, flaring out when needed, as at the climax of "Voi lo spate." Her interpretive choices are inventive and sometimes counterintuitive, and her soft singing has that bittersweet grace we knew and loved.Angelo Mori has a firm, manly tenor and expunges the usual lachrymosity from "Resta abbandonata" and "Mamma, quel vino." Gabriele Foresta is a rather mild-mannered Alfio, his lyric baritone miles from the leather-lunged belters one has become accustomed to in the part. The sound is superb, with a broad stereophonic spread. There are several brief gaps, some tape warpage and, in the final track, some regrettable file corruption.

Cavalleria was the first and arguably the greatest verismo opera. I thinkMascagni would have been pleased with this performance.* Souliotis stillhad plenty of voice left. She sang the role on the BBC and in Florence, Vienna,and London.The tenor is surprisingly good. The baritone is fine. Certainly better thanthe raspy-voiced Gobbi on the Decca/London recording. (I heard Gobbi in“Otello” with the Met in 1967. He sounded somewhat better in person thanon recordings.)*I never talked to Mascagni, but theoretically I could have. He was stillalive during my childhood.I think Andrew has underrated the sound. I would give it 5 stars. It isin Stereo.