This performance has been around for years, and Opera Depot's copy is my third. It is, happily, in the clearest sonics of the three. Listening to this performance amounts to a trip back in time, when singers knew the traditions and sang with purpose and point. The men are, simply put, superlative. In the title role, Bergonzi is in the full bloom of his career and offers an abject lesson in Verdian style. He was, after all, the premier Verdi tenor of the day. The voice has endless reserves of power, thrust, and high notes, all splendidly delivered. Cappuccilli is in magnificent form, as well, singing his great Act III scene with beauty of tone, melting legato, and that characteristic virile core to his sound. Hearing Italians singing in their native tongue makes a great difference, I think, very noticeable as the performance unfolds. Ruggero Raimondi, likewise, holds up the lower reaches of the staff. He was in ringing voice in these early days of his career, and portrays the disappointed Silva as a character of pathos. I can recall hearing him live~ it was a big voice, all of which comes through on the recording. For me, Leyla Gencer, despite fine vocalism, is something of a weak link. Her gottal attacks distort Elvira's glorious vocal lines, and she lags at times behind Maestro Gavazzeni's beat. She doesn't offend, but neither does she illuminate the score as she might. Having to begin her first scene with the opera's hit tune, "Ernani, involami" is a sneak attack from the composer (akin to the tenor's "Celeste Aida" in that work), and she meets its fearsome challenges not brilliantly, but well enough. We would be sore-pressed to hear her like today, of course, so we shall leave it at that. The audience recording is well-made, vibrant, and with a minimum of chatter near the recordist.