Deccca is to be congratulated and commended for finally reissuing this superb recording long absent from the catalogue. Georg Solti's way with the weightier Verdi operas is dramatic, compelling, and totally absorbing. He infuses the power of Wagner and Strauss into his orchestration, and it gives this opera an orchestral grandeur that is far less evident on other recordings. He's directing a cast who are themselves legendary. Carlo Bergonzi, the epitome of Italian lyricism, is heard here in his early vocal prime, and the dividends he pays are only slightly less than those paid by Bjoerling on the legendary 1940 Met performance. His voice flows like honey, and his phrasing is exemplary. Cornell MacNeil is captured here in his early prime as well - with a free and sonorous baritone that makes "Eri tu" one of the highlights of the performance. His Renato is appropriately menacing and anguished at the same time. Giulietta Simionato, a veteran Italian mezzo, who specialized in Verdi's mezzo roles, makes the most out of this brief but important role. Her top voice rings out dramatically in Ulrica's climaxes, though one would have liked equal power on those exciting "basement" notes that Verdi actually wrote for a true contralto, which Simionato was not (but then again, real contraltos are as scarce as original Mickey Mouse watches). Sylvia Stahlman was an excellent coloratura who should have had a greater career, as her Oscar here demonstrates. Her passage work is accurate, attractive, and limber. Her contribution to the trio in Act III is formidable. That leaves Birgit Nilsson, the mighty Isolde and Brunnhilde of her generation. Yes, she was a Wagnerian and Strauss soprano, but she was also an Aida, a Tosca, a Lady Macbeth, the most famous Turandot in history, and finally, an Amelia in "Ballo". Nilsson does not have the Italianate sound that we have become accustomed to in these roles, but her Nordic virtues are well known. She sang this role often in Sweden, and did very well by it. The role is very difficult, and is loaded with top B flats, B's, and a couple of high C's. These top notes are child's play for her. Her vocal power is something not to be believed, and her ascent to the climatic top C in the Act II aria is something which must be experienced rather than described. She and Bergonzi blend beautifully in the big duet in Act II and they both end it on a sustained high C (though it must be said that Nilsson's is five times the size of Bergonzi's, and she was probably STILL standing further from the microphone!). This recording is a real recorded achievement, and I don't think you've really experienced Verdi"s "Ballo" until you've heard the possibilities explored here. If I had to part with all my other "Ballo" recordings (and I have plenty of them!), this is most definitely the one I'd be clinging to. At the incredibly low price Amazon is charging for it, my advice is to grab it before it again becomes out of print.