The only performance James King assumed in this serie was on 1974 February the 16th.Luna was sung by Piero Cappuccilli.Cast was completed by Jocelyne Taillon as Ines, Jean Dupouy as Ruiz, Enzo La Selva as Messenger and Claude Meloni as Old Gipsy.

Another great live performance of one of Giuseppe Verdi's masterpieces that is part of the so-called "popular trilogy". James King (Manrico, tenor), Renata Scotto (Leonora, soprano), Shirley Verrett (Azucena, mezzo-soprano) and Piero Cappuccilli (Di Luna, baritone), with conductor Reynald Giovaninetti in the pit, a master of this score! There are however some "typo" mistakes: Di Luna is arguably Piero Cappuccillli (and not Matteo Manuguerra, although I would have preferred the latter), and on the front cover (I can't see the back cover) it is Renata Scotto (not Renato Scotto) and Reynald Giovaninetti (not Reynold Giovanetti). Thank you very much, dear Andy! Another great and wonderful surprise!

I suppose because they were in Paris someone decided to use the alternative "Paris ending". Things screech to a halt as we hear a reprise of the Miserere, Azucena and Manrico cry out with lots of "Mio figlio"s and "Addio, madre"s before the inevitable happens. Verdi's original is so much more effective. Other than that we do get one verse of Leonora's cabaletta in Act Four. The two women are magnificent, the men not far behind. Scotto sings with her usual intensity while coloring her lines in true Verdi style. In her Act Four aria, she interpolates a D-flat in the cadenza following it with a ravishing downward chromatic scale. She gets a little lost in the ensuing Miserere, but sings a stirring "Tu vedrai". Verrett is a force of nature. She interpolates a thrilling top C as was her wont at the end of "Deh! rallentate" and a chilling mad laugh at the end of the opera (also her habit).King is a very good Manrico although this isn't really his repertoire. His top B at the end of the Pira cracks, but he regains the tone. The excellent Di Luna is unquestionably Cappuccilli, not Manuguerra as advertised (Andy should change the cast listing above). The Ferrando is very good, but his identity remains a mystery. Giovanetti leads an exciting performance.The sound is good, the voices recessed, but audible. The bigger problem is the tapist who refuses to sit still, causing all kinds of bumps and disturbances.Verdi lovers and fans of these singers should get this.

Roger Soyer is indeed the Ferrando as another reviewer pointed out - whoops!

I was particularly interested in miss Verrett's role, because she was so young and I thought she had sung it only later in her career. The recording quality is not always perfect (as usual in live recording of that period) but still very appreciable. In general, a collector piece but quite a good one!

Ferrando is Roger Soyer

Does anyone know who sings Ferrando in this excellent, exciting performance? By the way, I would concur with Mr. Simon in that Luna is Cappuccilli, NOT Manuguerra. The latter had a very different kind of baritone, as I found to my pleasure when attending a wonderful CG Rigoletto in the early '90s.

16 February 1974 (i was there!) The baritone is Piero Cappuccilli

Thrilling singing from Scotto, Verrett and Manuguerra