Il trovatore was the middle of opera of the three masterpieces that consolidated Giuseppe Verdi’s fame. It has been lucky on record: two excellent versions circulated on 78rpm discs and the early LP era brought the present recording, the most consistently cast of all. It introduced a whole generation to the opera and in many collectors’ affections it still reigns supreme. Much of its success must be put down to the conductor Renato Cellini who draws beautiful playing from the orchestra. Cellini was also renowned in the profession as a coach and it is surely due to his careful preparation that a cast consisting of a Croatian, an Italian, a Swede, an American and a Greek sounds so convincing.