Verdi: Il Trovatore (complete opera) with Maria Callas, Giuseppe di Stefano, Herbert von Karajan, Chorus & Orchestra of La Scala, Milan

Maria Callas's voice was never noted for its sheer beauty, but she was in her best form for this session and she knew exactly what to do with what she had. She might not make the distraught figure of Leonora rationally credible, but she knows more about acting with her voice than anyone this side of Sir John Gielgud. And she puts Leonora's emotions, her vulnerability, her whole-hearted, self-sacrificial love, squarely before the listener. Herbert von Karajan's conducting brings logical coherence to a work not noted for that quality. In short, this is vintage Callas, at the top of her form in some of the greatest music and some of the most intensely emotional situations ever devised for a soprano. Von Karajan--young and not yet burdened with the mannerisms of his later years, is an ideal partner. The other singers, though dwarfed by Callas, provide substantial support. --Joe McLellan