Good but not great. the performance seemed well enough but the recording was distant and made it limiting as far as enjoying.

Del Monaco's Otello is a known commodity and he was justly famous for the role. He's in great shape in this performance, the bronze tone emerging from the sonic ether like a beacon of light in a storm. His ringing top B-flat on "O gioia!" in Act Three earns him an ovation. Colzani is one of those old-school, mustache twirling Italian Iagos that used to be so plentiful, but are now almost extinct. The audience loves him. They also love Pobbe's beautiful Desdemona. The second she releases her ethereal A-flat at the end of the "Ave Maria" the crowd unleashes a hurricane of applause, followed by boos from those who want the performance to continue, followed by cries of "Bis!" That doesn't happen, but one can't help thinking Pobbe was secretly pleased at the commotion. Piero De Palma is a first-rate Cassio as are the Emilia and Lodovico (too bad they aren't credited). Bellezza leads a worthy performance. He makes some cuts in the ensembles though.When the singers are downstage (most of the time) their voices are clearly heard. They get a little faint when they move away from the mics. A very exciting performance with some enthusiastic audience participation!