The big selling point of this set is probably Cornell MacNeil's exciting performance of Nabucco. His voice is better controlled here than it sometimes was elsewhere, the top notes have enough squillo in them for two baritones, and there is an authority, a presence that holds one's attention. In other words, he's a Star in all the best ways. This was a little late for Souliotis, yet she remains a formidable presence. It takes her the opening trio to warm up (she is more cautious with the coloratura in a way that she wasn't only a few years earlier), but after that she shows why she was considered such an exciting singer at the time. Christoff's unique voice is heard to splendid advantage; his authority is unquestionable. Bondino and Mattiucci assert themselves, refusing to fade into background. De Fabritiis knew this repertoire like the back of his hand. He rewrites the end of the opera slightly so that Abigaille's death comes before the final chorus (the Met performed a similar revision when it was first performed there in the early 60s).The sound isn't bad, the voices heard clearly over the orchestra though the tapist is fidgety at times.Definitely worth hearing for the singers though this wouldn't be a first choice for this opera.

Unlistenable other than for aficionados who need this for their Nabucco or Suliotis collection to be complete.

First, a caveat: The labels on the CDs were reversed on my copy (in other words "Disc 1" was really Disc 2 and vice versa). This is must-hear singing for fans of Elena Suliotis and Boris Christoff. There was always a Biblical-prophet quality to Christoff's singing and here is near-ideal, only surpassed by Cesare Siepi -- quibbling of a very high order. Suliotis gets off to a rocky start in the Act I trio but her glass harmonica-like timbre is in good order for the Act II cavatina and her high notes are the powerhouse thrusts of yore. And, of course, she embodies the character of Abigaille to the ground. She would steal the performance from any Nabucco less grandiose than Cornell MacNeil, as adept at bellicose bluster as at pathetic imploring for his daughter's life. A Bruno Prevedi soundalike, Ruggiero Bondino makes a strong case for Ismaele. Plinio Clabassi's High Priest of Babylon adds to the grandeur on the bass clef. Oliviero de Fabritiis' conducting tends to trudge but he seems to know how to get the best out of his singers. The sound is a bit muffled in places but the message gets across.

The only whole Nabucco with Christoff I know of

Very good performance