This is a terrible sounding disc. It is really hard to judge the performances because of the poor sound. Although I would love to hear both del Monaco and Crespin, I would pass on this disc. Sorry.

This is a fascinating document, even if the sound could charitably called "historical." It includes the Paris version of the Act III *concertato*, an ensemble almost never performed today. Mario del Monaco is in fine fettle as the Moor and seems unfazed by the mixed linguistic signals he receives. Regine Crespin sings in Italian when opposite del Monaco, in French otherwise, while René Bianco's oily Iago is a French-only proposition, treating us to some Instant Berlitz in the Act II poisoning of Otello's mind. One caveat: A commercial recording by Bianco has been slewed in where the Credo ought to be in the 1956 performance. Crespin sings divinely and since she was never captured in a complete "Otello" these excerpts are all the more precious.