Before his legendary tenure at La Scala, Riccardo Muti proved a transformative force in Florence, both in his programming and casting, as well as in the affinity he displayed for works from the bel canto repertoire and beyond. In Rossini's final masterpiece, Guillaume Tell, Muti finds the perfect balance between the momentum toward the works of Donizetti and Verdi and Rossini's quintessentially Classical approach. His musical choices are varied and specific, and he sustains the momentum of this uncut performance from the overture through the opera's rapturous final scene.

To a certain extent, he could hardly fail with the cast assembled for this performance. Nicolai Gedda is fearless as Arnoldo, displaying extraordinary high notes that I frankly did not know he possessed. Eva Marton is equally striking as Matilde. Heard here years before she would come to dominate the dramatic soprano repertoire, she demonstrates a delicacy of sound that suggests she could easily have become a bel canto specialist on the level of Joan Sutherland. Norman Mittelmann, in the title role, balances the character's bluster with a persuasive fatherly warmth.