La Favorite was premièred at Paris’s Opéra on 2nd December 1840. Its success was resounding and is witnessed by over 650 performances in that theatre between 1840 and 1904. The Italian version was staged for the first time in Padua in 1842. This recording dates from 1976 and brings us back to the times of Kraus, Cortez, Bruson and Siepi. Especially noteworthy are the Fernando of Kraus, a tenor endowed with a perfect technique and peerless vocal elegance, and the Alfonso of Bruson, a baritone voice of impressive splendour.
