What an extraordinary performance, with three of the century’s greatest singers!I wish the sound were better, but it’s the best we can expect from such a live recording. In my opinion it beats every other Turandot recording, live or studio. Price, especially, is extraordinary.

I was attracted to this performance because of the presence of di Stefano and Price. They and Nilsson exceed my expectations: they possess three of the greatest post-war voices in opera and perform at their peak. What I was not expecting was the truly passionate conducting of Molinari-Pradelli. His EMI recording was hardly of the top-drawer (under-powered and routinely played), but given the occasion (live + voices + the VPO), he turns in a great performance, on a par with early Mehta (my previous benchmark). He paces perfectly and provides the necessary thrust that a successful Turandot demands. This is now among 2-3 great performances for mine.