Well sung as the Solti/Decca set may be, I find this 1981 recording a far more satisfying and unified performance of the work in hand, largely because Abbado and his Scala forces give us much more of a sense of a theatrical experience and because Abbado's conducting is so much more stable and of a piece than his rival's. Listening again to Abbado's direction, I was struck by his attention to detail, which I expanded on in my original review, and on his sensible tempos. Though not quite so exciting as Muti's on the HMV set, which must one day reach CD, it seems to me to make better sense as a whole.
Margaret Price sings far the more secure Amelia for Solti, but she doesn't always get inside the part as does the vocally more variable Ricciarelli, who gives us the very epitome of the girl torn between love and duty. Domingo doesn't have, never has had, the 'ping' of Pavarotti, but his Riccardo is as involved adn as involving a performance as that of his Amelia; together with Abbado, they give an eloquent account of the love duet. Bruson, in better voice than for Solti, is hardly less expressive. Solti scores with the better Oscar and Ulrica.
I find the sound here not so open or clear as on the CDs of the Abbado Macbeth (reviewed above) but at least it isn't so blatant as the Solti. All in all, I go for the DG.'