This performance of La Forza del destino, captured in excellent stereo sound, offers further evidence of the remarkable stylistic range of Julia Varady, who could excel in widely differing repertory without sacrificing the intensely personal quality of her interpretations. She sings Verdi’s exceptionally demanding music with remarkable ease, maintaining an almost Mozartian purity of line throughout the evening.

The rest of the cast is not quite at her level. Robert Ilosfalvy meets the technical challenges of Alvaro securely, but his singing is comparatively short on nuance. Thomas Tipton’s voice conveys Don Carlo’s menace but lacks elegance. Plácido Domingo leads the orchestra with considerable stylistic and dramatic insight, evident in his pacing of the evening.