Two recordings of Handel operas from early 1959, both starring the young Joan Sutherland and both captured just weeks before she had her spectacular triumph that February in the title-role in Zeffirelli's Lucia di Lammermoor. It is astonishing that so soon before her big occasion Sutherland should have been learning and performing these major Handel roles, particularly as the performances in every way bear out the glorious freshness of her voice at this stage in her career.

In Samson she was cast as the Israelite Woman, a role that offers several important solos with the aria “Let the bright Seraphim” as a spectacular conclusion. Even at the time, Sutherland’s performance had everyone agog to hear her in Lucia the following month. Samson offered not only a starring role for Sutherland but an equal opportunity for the great Canadian tenor Jon Vickers as the blinded Samson. It seems incredible that a singer of Heldentenor quality like Vickers could sing so stylishly in Handel, with elaborate divisions perfectly executed. Not only that, his portrayal of Samson is deeply moving, thanks to his vocal acting over a wide tonal and dynamic range. In Act 1 the aria “Total eclipse” is agonisingly intense, all the more affecting when one realises that Handel wrote it as his own eyesight was failing.

The other soloists make a strong team, not least bass-baritone James Pease as the giant Harapha, who taunts Samson in his blindness. Joan Carlyle is also splendid as Dalila, especially so in her wonderfully matched duet with Sutherland. The snag on this recording is not only the limited instrumental sound but the roughness of the string-playing, surprising when Raymond Leppard was conducting. Happily, the wind parts and all the voices are very well caught.

The performance of Rodelinda followed 21 days later, one of the early productions of the Handel Opera Society. The acoustic in St Pancras Town Hall is much drier but still allows voices to come over with much of their natural bloom. Here again Sutherland is magnificent, fresh and clear, attacking even the most exposed notes with ideal precision and clarity, and displaying her phenomenal upper range ravishingly.

Charles Farncombe directs the Philomusica Orchestra with understanding and the rest of the cast consistently clear and steady. It is specially good to hear the young Janet Baker in the incidental role of Eduige, singing with heartfelt vehemence and sense of drama. Andromeda has remastered the original tapes so that, for all the limitations of the instrumental sound, one can enjoy the singing with little distraction. No notes are provided, only a list of tracks. Curiously, those for Rodelinda are in the original Italian, though the performance is given in English translation.