Anyone who has ever seen Carmen performed in Italy will know how well it can go with an Italian cast. This 1971 performance enshrines a most vivid and vehement Carmen from Cossotto – she was at the peak of her powers then. Del Monaco recorded Don Jose a few years before in the classic Schippers set on Decca (7/95), and he can also be heard live in a Russian Carmen (Revelation, 5/97). He’s a bit over the top here, but the ringing high notes still have plenty of punch. The audience goes wild after the Flower song, and although Cossotto shows him up – she’s able to colour phrases in a way that was unknown to him – they make a passionate pair. Maria Chiara, a singer who showed the greatest promise but never really made it on the international scene, and the young Renato Bruson are luxury casting as Macaela and Escamillo. More than just a souvenir, this is performance-practice evidence. Lots of stage bumps and noise.'