Giuseppe Giacomini did not get to record much in the studio so his live performance recordings are treasures. Here he is early in his career singing one of his best roles, his tone warm and passionate. His voice was individual in timbre with its own colors. He wasn't a flawless singer; sometimes his highest notes could sound stressful, but overall he is memorable in all the right ways.Anna Maria Balboni has a clear soprano with an easy top. If her characterization is more restrained than we often hear, it is more effective for it. As a native Italian speaker, she never exaggerates to make her points. Renato Borgato is a wonderful Lescaut, Sergio Pezzetti is a suitably unpleasant Geronte. The other singers are all local hires and are excellent. Napoleone Annovazzi leads a strong performance. Stephen W's review below correctly points out that the original master for this performance was a half-tone sharp. That has been corrected and the sound is very listenable. As an encore, Opera Depot gives us Giacomini's feverish rendition of "Amor ti vieta" from Fedora. Olivero sings the eponymous heroine and the complete performance (available from Opera Depot) is very hot indeed.

This is a good regional performance of Manon. Giacomini has a fine strong voice that does remind me of a young Mario del Monaco. Balboni has a young voice that suits the title character but her voice is not strong enough for my taste. The secondary players are fine also. A worthy alternate selection. The sound is decent FM stereo but has a constant hiss in the background.

The audio quality is what you would expect. I'm guessing that it is from the radio as opposed to "in house hand-held recorder." HOWEVER the copy I received is uniformly a half tone sharp ! Does no one review these types of things before offering them to the public and asking for money? If you are adept at Audacity you can take MP3 files from the discs and correct the pitch exactly a half step and then you will hear something EXCEPTIONAL...Manon Lescaut is Puccini's glorious first full flower and recordings live and studio that really squeeze every drop of juice out of this opera are few and far between. I'm happy to say that on this Dublin recording the 2 principal singers are no less than spectacular. One would hardly be surprised that Giacomini is in pristine condition and goes about his task in an arduous manner. While he (and all of us) would like for him to have a second shot at the high B natural in "Guardate Pazzo son" everything else is legato and theatrical. Anna Balboni is lush and opulent of voice, I wonder what her career story is that this seems to be the only trace of her currently available. This performance would suggest a rare and captivating singer of the highest order, so the two of them really give it the royal treatment..If you can get chance to hear this at the correct pitch it might just rise to the top of your list as your #1 Manon Lescaut!