Amy Shuard, Jon Vickers, Ettore Bastianini, Regina Resnik, Joan Carlyle, Michael Langdon, David Kelly, Victor Godfrey, John Kollman & George Barker
The Covent Garden Opera Chorus & The Covent Garden Orchestra, Edward Downes
“Most people will probably be drawn to this live 1962 Un Ballo in Maschera...by the prospect of hearing Jon Vickers as Gustavo, a role he never recorded commercially. Paradoxically, however, his performance is in some respects the least interesting thing about the set. The main reason you need to hear it is the exceptional Renato from Ettore Bastianini, the greatest of all Verdi baritones, who died young in 1967. His only appearance at Covent Garden, this is one of the best of his several extant versions of a role, which no one else has ever sung so beautifully or characterised with such passionate subtlety. Edward Downes's conducting is white hot throughout, and the rest of the cast is strong, too.” The Guardian, 9th May 2008 ****
“...Maybe [Vickers] was greater as Radames and Don Carlo than as Gustavo, which demands more elegance than he possessed. The intensity, though, the heroic ring of the voice, is thrilling. Ettore Bastianini is not at his best and Joan Carlyle’s Oscar is pallid, but Amy Shuard is a moving Amelia.” Sunday Times, 20th April 2008 ***
“Jon Vickers characterisation of the doomed king is odd but powerful… The under-recorded Amy Shuard… is a passionate Amelia, and the cast throughout is impressive.” BBC Music Magazine, Proms 2008 ****
