PRE-ORDER: Mitropoulos Conducts Ernani [CD]

The result is that a Decca production from the 1950s was originally intended to feature a cast including Mario Del Monaco, Anita Cerquetti and Ettore Bastianini. Unfortunately, that recording never was released. Fortunately, however, a 1957 performance in Florence has preserved an Ernani featuring those three singers, alongside a bass of Boris Christoff's caliber. Perhaps the most interesting aspect, however, is the conductor - in this fortunate instance, none other than Dimitri Mitropoulos - who delivered what critics hailed as a revolutionary interpretation of the opera. In any case, the sound quality is excellent.