Caballe was one of those singers who defied expectations and usually won. We all knew how fine she was in the bel canto repertoire, but who would've guessed what a fine Salome she'd be? Her earlier broadcast of the opera from 1957 had not surfaced yet when this was released and she didn't look like the stereotypical slim Salome with whom most people were familiar from illustrations and movies. In the event she is a marvelous Salome, the voice even and lyrical, capable of great power or stunning pianissimi. Her top C-flats are as powerful as her low G-flats and she is always involved in this performance with none of the coasting that lessened her impact later in her career. If you haven't heard her studio performance of the opera for RCA, this is a great place to start.The other singers are all just as good. Nimsgern sings powerfully with a rich, ringing tone that suits Jochanaan very well and the parents, Karl Heinz Thiemann and Beverly Wolff, not only characterize their roles well, but sing their music with accuracy and steadiness of voice. What a luxury to have Ochman and Lilowa in the two small, but important roles of Narraboth and the page too. Mehta conducts up a storm.The sound is very clear mono with the voices very present. The filler of Caballe singing Donna Anna's two big scenes from Don Giovanni also gives us another facet of Caballe's artistry, especially valuable since the soprano rarely, if ever, performed Anna's music again.

Wonderful opera and wondeful Caballé