This classic broadcast has been around on the pirate circuit for a long time. I first had it on the Melodram label paired with the Verdi Requiem under Karajan (Price, Cossotto, Pavarotti, and Ghiaurov were the soloists).Joseph Manley writes very eloquently about this performance below so I won't repeat what he said, only state that I agree with him wholeheartedly. Zylis-Gara makes prettier sounds than Gencer, but she doesn't have the Turkish diva's sense of drama and imagination. In the filler, she sings Matilda's big aria from Guglielmo Tell gorgeously. Giulini assigns the penultimate "Quando corpus" to the chorus rather than the soloists as in Rossi's performance.Both recordings are worth owning. They are exceptionally well sung and conducted, both in excellent sound.

This is worth it just for Pavarotti's rendering of Cujus Animam - absolutely how this music is supposed to be sung. Pavarotti combines the technical perfection, vocal ease, sustained intensity, and complete command of a Bjorling with magisterial phrasing and both great warmth and brilliance of tone. Breathtaking. His singing is like this throughout in fact - arguably at the peak of his powers and form at the great Italian tenor he was.This stunning quartet of soloists and Giulini as conductor make this a truly great performance. Verrett is also at the peak of her powers, with great tone, power, passion as the great artist and musician she was. Zaccaria provides truly beautiful singing, rich bass tone, and sophisticated technique which shows us once again why he was in demand for a long time from conductors like Karajan and Giulini, and frequently partnered great singers such as his countrywoman, Maria Callas. Zylis-Gara sings very well with what is a lovely though essentially lyric voice - and respects its lyric nature even in the more dramatic passages, such as the Inflammatus. Ideally I would prefer a bigger, richer voice in this music - such as the young Tebaldi - but Zylis-Gara is quite up to the demands of Rossini and Giulini.This is sacred music written in an unapologetically operatic style - memorably and beautifully sung start to finish, with great style, taste and artistry.

It's not easy to balance our idea of what Italian sacred music should sound like (Palestrina Masses or the Verdi Requiem) with the mood swings of Rossini's Stabat Mater. By taking it all very seriously but phrasing with his customary elegance, Giulini brings it off as well as anyone. In my experience on record, only Ferenc Fricsay does as good a job. Zylis-Gara and Verrett are stunningly assured and in rich voice. It's a treat to hear a young and less than totally self-absorbed Pavarotti. Zaccaria sounds older than the rest of the quartet, but that hardly damages his authority. The orchestra sounds well, the chorus is a but fuzzy.

This work is a bit hard to perform mostly because it requires an outstanding quartet of soloists. This performance definitely delivers that! Verrett and Pavarotti deliver stand out performances and Zylis-Gara and Zaccaria are close behind. The choral sound is a little distant but still quite good. Highly Recommended!