It is astonishing to consider that this performance took place in the USSR at the height of the Cold War—a time when Russia was largely isolated from the rest of the world—yet the spirit of Giuseppe Verdi still permeates it with authenticity and style. Galina Vishnevskaya is sublime in the soprano solos, seamlessly blending delicate phrasing with Verdi-sized outbursts. Irina Arkhipova makes equally compelling use of her earthy mezzo-soprano in the alto solos. The choral singing is nothing short of first-rate, steeped in centuries of tradition.