This was my first order, so have to say very pleased with the speed with which the four operas were dispatched and the sound quality - considering some were in house as opposed to relays. For me having a record of performances I went to outweighs any imperfections in quality and would certainly be ordering more in the future.

The casting of non-Festival performances of this production startled people by their quality, the main problem with this recording is that Vishnevskaya falls clearly below the standard of Pauline Tinsley, whom young ladies at the time engaged in vocal studies were much impressed by, the most athletic of Lady Macbeth performers and not to be faulted for not being the slenderest physically. She was boss! The young lady students were also shown her bruises. Bailey was not gruff, he had considerable weight of voice and great expressiveness. Donald MacIntyre in the same role in the same production had an easier production but Bailey delivered a tense uncomfortable Macbeth exactly right. Graham Clark sang Malcolm so extraordinarily well, and as almost a late starter in opera, the combination of his seeming extreme youth and the fresh but really ringing voice won him the serious admirers he still deserves. The Patria Oppressa dressed in costumes modelled on disciples of Mao tse Tung but in red did annoy some people, but this was wonderful and I can't imagine anybody having a right to expect that the Zuerich production with Thomas Hampson would be any better in any respect. MIne ears heard glory that mine eyes saw forby

This is very well worth having in one's collection of Macbeth performances. However, I find Vishnevskaya less amenable to my ears than does Andy; she's often off-pitch and a tad wobbly at times . Rysanek, Gencer and Callas have proven that a straight "sing" with plenty of dramatic "oomph" is perfect for Verdi's Lady - but Vishnev's is still a formidable and very well-acted interpretation.Bailey's Macbeth -whilst not as smoothly-sung as his 1975(?) BBC studio film, benefits from the live context...as anyone who experienced his Wagner and Verdi performances at ENO will attest. I don't find him 'gruff' -listen to 'Pieta, rispetto...' and the usually-cut 'Mal per me'...and Bailey is very, very characterful - this is as close to Shakespeare's Thane as you'll get - including Gobbi!The rest of the cast is excellent, especially Ward and Hillman (another ENO regular) and Gibson whips up the Scottish Opera forces to really DELIVER!