This remarkably mediocre performance will hold little appeal for anyone. Recorded in 1953 when there were only a couple of other recorded Lucias available (one with Callas and another with Lily Pons come to mind), this one, done with on-the-rise singers, was an inexpensive alternative on the Urania label. The singers are not terrible. Dolores Wilson is an ordinary lyric soprano with agility and a bright top to E-flat. Every note is colored the same way and she has little imagination. Occasionally, as at the start of Act 2, she delivers her lines in an involved, moving manner, but mostly she sings with hardish tone and little flair. Gianni Poggi was the bane of many commercial recordings at the time–he whined, he scooped, the voice was unappealing. His Edgardo on this set, however, is not bad–he sings well and with a certain passion, the voice is evenly produced and without some of the nasality his other recordings display. Anselmo Colzani was a baritone who thrilled on stage with his big, snarling, Italian sound and style. He recorded little, and while he’s in relatively good voice here, he also shows little imagination. Franco Capuana’s conducting is prosaic in the extreme and the Milan orchestra and chorus play and sing as if they’d learned their roles for this occasion. The other cast members are passable. An odd, welcome feature of the set is the inclusion of the tenor/baritone Wolf’s Crag scene, which invariably was cut in both performances and recordings at the time; we also hear a bit more of the Mad Scene than was normally played back then. The sound is shallow and blaring. Let’s put it this way: If you’d never heard “Lucia” and this recording came your way, you’d come away with a good idea of what the opera was all about, but you’d hardly be moved or fascinated. No need for this, really. [8/25/2004] https://www.classicstoday.com/review/review-10697/