Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera has fared noticeably well on disc over the years with starry names like Bergonzi, Domingo, Pavarotti and Carreras gracing the tenor role and Price (Leontyne) and Caballé as standout Amelias. Merrill, Cappuccilli and Wixell have proved magnificent as Renato, and that’s without even mentioning the dream team of Di Stefano, Callas and Bastianini. So, do you need a new one? When the vocal line-up is as good as it is here, why not?

Orfeo’s live recording hails from 2016 at the Vienna Staatsoper and like most on disc it is based on the Swedish rather than the curious American version of the opera forced on Verdi by political censors. 

Piotr Beczała is probably the finest Gustavo III of his generation, singing with just the right degree of swagger, a winning touch of irony and plenty of romantic passion when called for. His tone is bright and Italianate, just a little pushed when required to pop out a passing top note but rock solid when given plenty of time to get up there. Krassimira Stoyanova is...