Ernani is truly early Verdi at its best. And the performances in this recording do much to show why. Antonietta Stella is perhaps the ideal exponent of Elvira, managing the lyric, spinto and coloratura aspects of this role with equal ease. Gastone Limarilli brings a somewhat monochromatic tone and a lack of nuance to the title role, yet still manages to impress with the remarkable control he has over his large tenor. Cornell MacNeil's voice had the color of a bass with the high notes of a tenor and he uses those extremes to his advantage as Carlo.