Verdi: Oberto

Play some of this, Verdi's first opera, for opera-loving friends and ask them to guess the composer, and you are likely to hear the name Bellini. Outside of musical parlor games, this disc is of interest to those who yearn for completeness and those who are curious about how Verdi began. The music is good, though it lacks some of the inexorable logic and emotional strength of the mature Verdi. The performance is well-styled despite a few moments of strain from Carlo Bergonzi and Rolando Panerai. --Joe McLellan