Yup it's a great recording and the brightest-sounding recording from that first session with "orchestra" in Febrary 1906. I find that his voice as recorded at that session sounds rather thin and constricted (due to Victor's setup, not because of his voice) compared to recordings he made later on, as Victor improved on its recording quality, although they did record his voice very well in the 1904 session also. Some of my favorites of those later ones which show his voice to much better advantage are the arias from Le Cid, La Juive, Ah si, ben mio from Trovatore, the Otello duet with Ruffo, the trio from I Lombardi, Addio a Napoli, and Sei morta ne la vita mia. These along with many other great examples have much better presence, balance, spaciousness, "orchestral" sound, and acoustic ambience.Marty Bufalini wrote:My God!!! What a great recording!!! What a voice!!! Imagine what he would have sounded like on electrical recordings!!! My grandparents once heard him in concert and my Nonna said she could still hear him. Something she said she could never forget.
It's amazing your grandparents heard him live. What memories they carried. Thanks for sharing that with us
What a voice he had, indeed!
Steven