"Callas’s Aida is an assumption of total understanding and conviction; the growth from a slave-girl torn between love for her homeland and Radames, to a woman whose feelings transcend life itself, represents one of the greatest operatic undertakings ever committed to disc. Alongside her is Fedora Barbieri, an Amneris palpable in her agonised mixture of love and jealousy – proud yet human. Tucker’s Radames is powerful and Gobbi’s Amonasro quite superb – a portrayal of comparable understanding to set alongside Callas’s Aida.
Tullio Serafin’s reading is in the central Italian tradition of its time. That’s to say, it’s unobtrusively right in matters of tempo, emphasis and phrasing, while occasionally passing indifferent ensemble in the choral and orchestral contribution. Although the recording can’t compete with modern versions (it was never, in fact, a model of clarity), nowhere can it dim the brilliance of the creations conjured up by this classic cast." - Gramophone, 2015
This transformational Ambient Stereo XR remaster by Andrew Rose for Pristine gives this classic recording a whole new lease of life - an absolutely unmissable new release!