Richard Osborne received this set with very modified rapture when it first appeared here, on Hungaroton, in 1983 and I see no reason to argue with his verdict. Indeed, since then, EMI’s live La Scala recording, under Muti, has appeared, placing the Gardelli even further in the shade (in 1983 it had only the Schippers version to contend with).
There is nothing wrong with Gardelli’s experienced conducting even if it appears penny-plain alongside Muti’s, but his cast, Sass apart, is lacklustre. She has just the right spinto excitement for Elvira’s taxing music, and executes it with more elan than Freni (EMI) or even Leontyne Price (RCA), so you might like to hear the set for her alone. Lamberti is a real Verdian tenor, but he lacks the elegance of Bergonzi (RCA) or the style and warmth of Domingo (EMI). The Don Carlo and Silva sound journeymen as compared with their EMI rivals.
Inevitably this set sounds studio-bound alongside the EMI recording, which remains a strong recommendation: that’s worth having at the very least for Bruson’s object-lesson in how to sing one of the most rewarding baritone parts in all Verdi.'