what's this ? Disco Campione Turandot

[Inigo]

Last weekend I played the complete set on my modern sound system. A very beautiful recording. And the records sounded very very good, no hiss, no crackle... What a marvel! Thanks again, Mike.
Originally it was a 31 sides set. The collection you gave me has only 21 of the sides, three of them repeated in takes 1 and 2. But it's a wonderful rare treasure, a pleasure to listen to...
And that made me think. Usually we listen to opera arias in one or two sides, extracted from the opera, and sometimes arranged to stay as a stand-alone song. To listen to them immersed in its surroundings is magical, and much more surprising... for you are listening to the whole opera, with its lots of (let's call it) intermediate music, telling how the theatrical history is developing.... And then suddenly comes the aria or well known excerpt, raising as a jewel in the middle of all that context... It's much better than the aria isolated from the rest. I believe that, except for La Boheme, it's only the second opera I listen to in completeness... I had forgotten how exciting it was!