Il Trovatore

This generous CD of excerpts from Verdi's Il trovatore is very good indeed. It contains more than half of the opera, comprising both of Leonora's arias, much of Azucena's second act (and last act) music, Ferrando's opening spiel, Manrico's third act scene, and some ensembles, including the first and last act finales. The singers are among the most expressive on any available recording of this opera, with Maurizio Frusoni a manly, fearless Manrico, Daniela Longhi an involved Leonora, Roberto Servile a bit light as di Luna, and Irina Tschistiakova a clear-toned, nice-and-loony Azucena. Will Humburg leads an exciting series of globs of the opera.