Again dipping into the rich archive of live recordings remastered and made available by the late Mike Richter, we find this selection from his early disc “Odd Opera 2.”  It’s Bellini’s I puritani, as performed on April 18, 1963 at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia.

From Mike’s liner notes for this release:

Although private recordings have been issued quite frequently, all appear to come from late generations of a tape which I received from the recordist in better sound than I have found on the market. So I take this opportunity to include it here. Note that the sound quality is inconsistent, but consistently less than would be achieved with modern hardware.

Conductor: Richard Bonynge
Company: American Opera Society
Elvira: Joan Sutherland
Arturo: Nicolai Gedda
Riccardo: Ernest Blanc
Giorgio: Justino Diaz
Enrichetta: Betty Allen
Gualtiero: Raymond Michalski

La Cieca

James Jorden (who wrote under the names "La Cieca" and "Our Own JJ") was the founder and editor of parterre box. During his 20 year career as an opera critic he wrote for the New York Times, Opera, Gay City News, Opera Now, Musical America and the New York Post. He also raised his voice in punditry on National Public Radio. From time to time he directed opera, including three unsuccessful productions of Don Giovanni. He also contributed a regular column on opera for the New York Observer. James died in October 2023.

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