Il Trovatore

This is the most beautifully sung Il Trovatore on record, but is by no means the most dramatic and is far from the best-conducted. Those who insist on stereo sound (which has substantial advantages for opera recordings in terms of dramatic presence and impact) may opt for the Zubin Mehta or James Levine treatments. But Jussi Bjoerling and Leonard Warren respond intensely to the score theatrically and, above all, musically, Zinka Milanov sings with a haunting beauty most of the time, Fedora Barbieri approaches the role of the Gypsy woman Azucena as if she were born to sing it, and the relatively small, well-disciplined chorus sings with a clarity and precision comparable to that of Levine's powerful Metropolitan Opera Chorus. --Joe McLellan