Rossini: Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville)

Oddly, as Tony Locantro’s notes recount, Callas had failed on stage with Rosina at La Scala in 1956 (largely because of a poor production); but Legge held to his guns, and the result – her first stereo recording, in the sympathetic space of Kingsway Hall – is now a classic of the gramophone: ‘She turns in a buoyant, joyful performance. Tito Gobbi’s Figaro and Luigi Alva’s Almaviva also came from the Scala production, and their experienced teamwork adds considerably to the whole achievement. Galliera’s idiomatic conducting gives the singers first-class support.’

“If a criticism is to be made of Callus's Rosina, it is lack of warmth. But there is much to admire, as there is in Alva's Count, Gobi's Barolo and Galleria's conducting.” BBC Music Magazine, November 2007 ****