Once you accept the sound (as with most such recordings) it is a highly rewarding performance. Gencer is wonderful, while Cecchele and Raimondi offer excellent support. The final trio is very fine indeed. I have to admit that I was a little disappointed with Taddei: the act 3 aria is rather blustery with lots of aspiration and not much sense of legato. But otherwise lots of pleasure to be had.

The big draw here will probably be Leyla Gencer's Elvira. She is very good, passionately committed as always. Her voice was starting to sound a little frayed by this point in her career. "Ernani, involami" is phrased and sung with all the Verdian style one could wish for and she certainly knows her way around the cabaletta. There is a clotted sound at the top that is less attractive and in a role like Elvira, Gencer can't really act her way around it. She employs her chest register to great effect and interpolates a thrilling high D at the end of the trio in Act Four. It's a self-indulgent moment, but the audience loves it.Cecchele is a little tight on top, yet he has the spinto sound that we go begging for today. He is a strong Ernani. Taddei, in a true bel canto role, has a few shaky moments here and there, but overall lives up to his reputation. The young Raimondi is remarkably mature. It's clear why he had such a long and varied career. In a smaller role, Mario Guggia makes a strong impression. One wishes his role were longer. Wolf-Ferrari leads an exciting performance that is blessedly unafraid of the melodrama.The voices come over very well, but the tapist fidgets annoyingly sometimes, leading to some unintentional clunks. All the same, Verdians and Gencer fans should have this!

I was simply blown away by this performance. Arguably one of the best quartets of Verdi interpreters, this cast gives a fine performance, albeit Cecchele is not as polished as the others. Gencer and Taddei are the true stars. The only reason I rated this 4 and not a 5 is the quality of the sound. The first CD was fine, but the second had at least 20 minutes of sound problems -- by times absolutely unplayable. Nevertheless, if you love Verdi and you want to have a rare opportunity to hear 4 great Verdians, grab this performance. It is well worth it.

In my opinion Gencer is a bit harsh Elvira, some coloraturas are so so, however I still liked her. Taddei is wonderful and Raimondi is very good. Cecchele is one of the reasons why I bought this Ernani, and I think he is very good Ernani. I admire Cecchele- I heard him only once in my life as Radames, when he was 63 years old (Ljubljana Summer Festival 2001) but he was and still is (together with Piero Guillacci) the best Radames I heard live on stage. Manno Wolf-Ferrari conducts Orchestra di Bilbao with great sense for early Verdi.