"Miss Sutherland's Rodelinda is on a level with her Lucia—confirmation that we have in our midst one of the great sopranos of the world. The brilliance and beauty of her coloratura are matchless. But no less notable is the exquisitely drawn phrasing of the slow melodies and of the recitative, the subtle and intricate line and play of tone-colours by which she gives to Handel’s music such meaning and eloquence. With one aria in particular she ravished the ear and melted the heart: but it is perhaps unfair to single out just one passage when the role, a magnificently rewarding one, offered so many treasures.
There were three other distinguished singers in the cast. Janet Baker (Eduige) is one of the most arresting, intelligent and imaginative mezzos we have, with vivid declamation and a rich, ringing, individual timbre. Margreta Elkins (Bertarido), another truly 'operatic’ mezzo, was particularly artistic in her singing of the lovely ‘Dove sei,’ and of the garden air. The entrancing duet in which she and Miss Sutherland take a farewell as tender as Belmonte's and Constanze’s must also be mentioned. And Raimund Herincx (Garibaldo, the intriguer) sang as strikingly as befits one of our most stylish bass-baritones." - Opera, 1959