This 1985 staging of Giordano’s most popular opera was one of Covent Garden’s finest hours in the 1980s. Michael Hampe’s production, though not overly imaginative, set the story in its right milieu and he directed an excellent cast with acuity. Although Julius Rudel’s conducting wasn’t much admired at the time, it now seems to me very much in the spirit of the piece.

But the main reasons for acquiring the set are the three principals. Plácido Domingo, at the height of his powers, pours out his rich, well-placed tones unstintingly in solo after solo, and he makes each a part of a vocally impeccable portrayal of the anguished poet and lover, though even then he was looking mature for the role. As his rival for the hand of Maddalena, Giorgio Zancanaro – the most convincing Italian baritone of the time – almost stops the show with his vibrant and emotionally overwhelming account of ‘Nemico della patria’. He graphically depicts a man torn between fierce desires and better instincts. Anna Tomowa-Sintow overcomes the slight drawback of an overly comfy presence through the sincerity of her acting and the Italianate élan of her singing; her ‘La mamma morta’ is an object lesson in style.

Apart from Anny Schlemm’s wobbly Madélon, the smaller roles are well filled with British stalwarts of the day. The orchestral playing is admirable throughout. Humphrey Burton’s video direction is perceptive, and the sound satisfactory without being as well-balanced as it might be today. The supporting material is disgracefully thin for a full-price issue.

I gave Bruno Bartoletti’s set on Hardy, from an Italian TV relay of 1973, a hearty welcome when it appeared on DVD (4/03). It has Franco Corelli, Piero Cappuccilli and the underrated Celestina Casapietra at their best. Another worthy performance, from La Scala, also an NVC set, is still only on VHS. It boasts a more pointed staging, but I would still go, all things considered, for this new release.