Alfredo Kraus sang Hoffmann in quite a few houses; this may be one of his earliest outings in the role. Hoffmann's high tessitura suits his voice perfectly. In addition to the written high notes, he interpolates a top C at the end of the Kleinzach song and another at the end of "Ah, vivre a deux". The three women are excellent. Mesple sounds like the mechanical doll to the life. She interpolates an E-flat at the end of her Doll Song, but otherwise sings it the way Offenbach wrote it. Her waltz roulades at the end of the act are perfect. Davidson had a fine voice and does well with what she's given, but (typically for Giulietta) she isn't given much to do. Neblett sings a strong Antonia with thrilling top notes. I thought she oversang a bit, but that may be the recording. Bruscantini brings character and color to his four roles, crowning "Scintille, diamant" with two ringing G sharps. James Atherton shows why he was so popular at this time with Met audiences (a great shame he died so young). Williams, De Palma and Zaccaria are first-rate in their roles. Rescigno leads an exciting performance of a somewhat different edition than we're used to hearing now. Much of the recitative has been cut or converted into spoken dialogue which helps move things along. The traditional order of the acts is used here (Olympia-Giulietta-Antonia); I think Stella makes a non-vocal appearance in the Epilogue. The sound is probably from a good house tape, a little tinny, but the voices can clearly be heard and the pitch of the tape is correct.All Hoffmann fans or fans of the singers should get this.