Il Trovatore
This is the most beautifully sungIl Trovatoreon record, but is  by no means the most dramatic and is far from the best-conducted. Those who  insist on stereo sound (which has substantial advantages for opera recordings in  terms of dramatic presence and impact) may opt for the Zubin Mehta or James  Levine treatments. But Jussi Bjoerling and Leonard Warren respond intensely to  the score theatrically and, above all, musically, Zinka Milanov sings with a  haunting beauty most of the time, Fedora Barbieri approaches the role of the  Gypsy woman Azucena as if she were born to sing it, and the relatively small,  well-disciplined chorus sings with a clarity and precision comparable to that of  Levine's powerful Metropolitan Opera Chorus.--Joe McLellan