Maria Callas (Aida), Kurt Baum (Radamès), Giulietta Simionato (Amneris), Jess Walters (Amonasro), Giulio Neri (Ramfis), Michael Langdon (Il Re di Egitto), Joan Sutherland (Una Sacerdotessa), Hector Thomas (Un Messaggero) Covent Garden Opera Chorus & Orchestra, Sir John Barbirolli Penguin Guide2010 edition it was in many ways a performance that outshines all [Callas's] studio recordings, with the stage atmosphere well caught. Barbirolli too is a winningly warm and sympathetic Verdian...Simionato is a superb Amneris, searingly powerful...[Sutherland sounds] very distant but perfectly identifiable.