Mario Del Monaco may have been past his prime by 1969, but he still knew how to give a performance. His voice is still in good condition, those famous ringing high notes still impressive. He grandstands by holding the top B-flat on "O gioia!" in Act Three for an obscene amount of time and is vociferously applauded by the audience. His characterization is comprised mostly of hysterical shouting, grunts and groans, yet it works. His work isn't subtle, but it is very effective.Souliotis was 26 when this was recorded and the effects of singing Abigaille, Norma, Gioconda and other heavy roles can already be heard on her voice. The basic tone is still attractive, but she is already lunging up to high notes, the tone itself sometimes sounding dangerously unsupported. She doesn't do anything particularly distinctive with Desdemona nor does she bother to scream where Verdi asks her to in the last act. Some fools in the audience spoil the end of her "Ave Maria" by applauding even before she has finished her high A-flat.Colzani is a terrific Iago, performing in the best Italian tradition of the role. The supporting cast is very good and De Fabritiis leads a dynamic performance albeit with some unusual cuts along the way. The basic sound is very listenable, but there are some glitches along the way. The last 30-50 seconds of the opera are missing. My copy was afflicted with file corruption (clicking) during Acts Two and Four.

Great del Monaco