Joan Sutherland recorded this role commercially for Decca two years before this 1968 Roman RAI broadcast; nonetheless, she is more convincing and in slightly spryer voice here. Mario Petri also is a bit better as Assur than Joseph Rouleau on Decca, and with one exception, the rest of the cast is about equally good. However–and this is a BIG however–Monica Sinclair, on this performance, is no match for Decca’s Marilyn Horne (who is?), who positively makes the opera come to life whenever she appears and whose vocal blending with Sutherland, particularly in this opera, is legendary. Richard Bonynge leads a convincing reading, but even at this bargain price (Decca’s is mid-priced, by the way), Horne swings the balance of power to Decca.
