Sir William Walton's 1954 opera Troilus and Cressida received its first performances under the baton of Sir Malcolm Sargent at Covent Garden, London in December 1954.
With starring roles for Richard Lewis and Magda Lazslo as Troilus and Cressida, backed by Peter Pears, Frederick Dahlberg and Geraint Evans and a solid cast, it's a fabulous listen brilliantly resurrected from acetate discs for Pristine by Andrew Rose.
This previously-unissued live BBC Transcription Service recording was made three weeks into that first run, and brilliantly captures Walton's opera in its original version - before he began meddling with and cutting sections from it, as was his (unfortunate) habit.
It's accompanied by excellent and extensive notes by Walton biographer Stephen Lloyd, who writes:
"The inclusion of these cuts, together with fine singing and Sargent’s urgent pacing, makes this recording a document of unusual historic interest."