Rare live recording of Verdi's opera effected at the famous Teatro alla Scala in 1957 with Maria Callas and Giuseppe Di Stefano in the main roles. Fully electronically remastered to achive the best possible sound quality. Enjoy another gem from the series "The Greatest Years of Maria Callas", with the full libretto scanned.

Musically this 'Falstaff' probably passes muster -- barely. Ruggero Raimondi is frankly a bit long in the tooth for the part, it now being more than twenty-five years since he first sang the part. And he never had the low notes for the part, even back then. Barbara Frittoli is fine as Mistress Ford, and vocally Mariola Cantarero is a an equally fine Nannetta but she is a good deal more matronly than one would hope for a girl in the first bloom of love. Her lover Fenton, sung by Daniil Shtoda, is vocally acceptable but he is wooden as an actor and spends an awful lot of the time looking at the conductor. Laura Polverelli as Mistress Meg Page is OK but nothing special. The Mistress Quickly, Elena Zilio, simply doesn't have the chest voice for the part; her repeated 'Reverenza' just lies there gasping for breath.

Abbado's Verdi recordings are some of the finest available and this Requiem recording is no expection. Abbado takes a less ferocious approach than say Muti, or Barenboim, balancing the dramatic moments effectively against the more introspective aspects of the score. Ricciarelli is in fine form here, singing with a fine sense of line and intense emotional declamation. Her intonation is perfect. Verrett blends seamlessly with Ricciarelli, making the most of their duet and capturing the intense sadness of much of the writing quite well. Domingo, in his first recording of the part, provides a steady stream of golden tone, effortlessly produced. His emotional temperature runs about right here - not overly dramatic - after all, this is not Aida - but strong feelings kept on a tight rein. Ghiaurov is phenomenal. His gigantic bass somehow anchoring the entire quartet and chorus into an imposing yet gorgeous Verdian soundscape. There are many excellent Verdi Requiem recordings - this is surely one of the very best. ”