GIOVANNA D'ARCO

The London Symphony Orchestra and Ambrosian Opera Chorus are splendid and led by James Levine with such infectious vigor and propulsive excitement that it makes opera as thrilling and passionate as it should be. Levine takes what could have been a turgid affair and makes it anything but. While the quieter passages are allowed their space, and are rendered beautifully, it is in the rousing, energetic passages where the recording succeeds most.