This unusual‚ some may say eccentric version of Fidelio has been unavailable since the demise long ago of the Westminster LP catalogue. Now it is revived at an opportune time‚ marking Jurinac’s 80th birthday in October‚ and her glorious Leonore is as good a reason as any to hear the set. Her natural‚ unaffected‚ deeply moving portrayal is marked by sincere inflection of the text and exactly the right kind of voice‚ lyric verging on the dramatic the role calls for – as we learnt when she first undertook it at Covent Garden in 1961 – and she is a more flexible‚ properly soprano Leonore as compared with Christa Ludwig for Klemperer‚ more in the vein of Fricsay’s Leonie Rysanek. She has singers around her worthy of her performance‚ among them Neidlinger’s frighteningly malevolent Pizarro (unrivalled in my experience in the theatre)‚ Peerce’s impassioned Florestan (although his tone is a shade steely under pressure)‚ Stader and Dickie‚ both well suited to their roles‚ and Ernster’s warm and sympathetic Rocco. Only the Fernando is disappointingly weak. All sing as part of a true ensemble under Knappertsbusch’s experienced‚ big­boned‚ grand direction. The eccentricity referred to is an extremely broad approach to tempo that won’t please those now used to lighter‚ much swifter performances. Knappertsbusch’s approach is most telling in reflective and/or momentous sections such as the canon quartet in Act 1‚ the Prisoner’s chorus‚ the dungeon music and the big ensemble in the finale. It also pays off in the two key duets for Leonore and Rocco‚ one near the end of Act 1‚ the other at the beginning of Act 2 because it allows the singers really to articulate the text: Leonore’s ‘Noch heute!’ and ‘Ich folge dir wär’s in Tot’ in the first‚ her ‘Du sollst kein Opfer sein!’ in the second here shine out as the firm‚ clear statements of faith they should be. But in the opening duet and aria‚ the March at the start of the second scene‚ and the Leonore/Florestan duet‚ the slow speeds are stultifying. Some dialogue is included‚ well spoken but in a rather artificial acoustic; otherwise the re­mastering has been deftly done and the sound in the musical numbers is good to excellent. Knappertsbusch includes Leonore No 3‚ where he is at his most eloquent‚ recalling his magnificent Wagner. The booklet might have included some biographies and information about the provenance of this now­historic document. Three of the most important rivals to this set‚ all recorded around the same period‚ are now at mid­price. In the epic character of this performance‚ Klemperer’s is a more consistent whole‚ though his cast is no better than his contemporary’s. Fricsay and Maazel present a totally different view: leaner‚ faster‚ more dramatic‚ less large in scale‚ both arrestingly vital – as is the much newer and markedly successful (as to performance and recording) Naxos set. We are lucky to have so many possibilities to choose from. But this one should not be overlooked‚ particularly as regards Jurinac’s portrayal.