To coincide with the performances, OHP has requested that Decca reissue the classic 1969 recording of Fedora starring Mario del Monaco and the underrated soprano, Magda Olivero.

Also included are several extended highlights from Riccardo Zandonai's rarely-heard Francesca da Rimini, using largely the same cast and orchestra.

Francesca describes the title character's relationships with three sons – the deformed elder brother Gianciotto, who she has to marry; the youngest brother Paolo, with whom she is in love, and Malatestino, whose overtures of love to Francesca are rejected. Gianciotto catches his brother leaving his wife's bedroom one night, and reaches out to kill him. Francesca steps in front of Paolo to save him, and is slain; Gianciotto nevertheless kills his brother, and collapses, distraught, on the stage.

The opening six tracks of this double album give a welcome selection of the opera's highlights. Inevitably, the big duets between the two principals (Francesca and Paolo) are chosen to give us ample opportunity to appreciate the talents of Del Monaco and Olivero. Also recorded is the very final scene, and the libretto includes all the sung texts.

Especially impressive is the Act III duet set in Francesca's bedroom, where the heroine reads the story of Lancelot and Guinevere aloud to Paolo. When she comes to the point in the story where the lovers kiss, Francesca's lips meet Paolo's in the opera as well. Del Monaco is at his most ardent in this passage, less coarse than in Fedora, and Olivero brings pathos to the role of Francesca. Her use of portamento seems perfect for this early-20th century music. Nicola Rescigno's conducting is overblown, to be frank, but that's perhaps in line with the nature of the music.

The main event is a complete recording of Fedora, which is one of the most engrossing and fast-paced Italian operas imaginable. The influence of Verdi, who had been striving to contract opera to its bare essentials for some time, is apparent in the rapid movement from scene to scene. The Greek unities of time, action and place, and frequent contrasts of light and dark in the music, are also Verdian characteristics.

Fedora is opera's very own spy story. At the opera's opening, the Count Vladimir Andreievich, engaged to Princess Fedora, is shot and badly wounded, and at the conclusion of Act 1 he dies. Count Loris Ipanov, who was seen with Andreievich that morning, is implicated in the murder.

In the second act, Fedora has tracked Loris down in Paris, and invites him to a reception at her house. He tells her that Andreievich was having an affair with his wife, and shows her their love letters as proof. Andreievich had drawn his gun on Loris, and the latter retaliated, which is how Andreievich came to die.

Fedora's attempts to be avenged of her fiance's death cannot now be reversed, as she had already arranged for the arrest of Loris' brother, who drowned to death. Loris' mother died of grief, and, unable to live with herself, Fedora poisons herself. Loris is left to understand and grieve, all too late.

The plot has been described as thin, the music flimsy. But I find the opera engaging, even if this vintage recording sounds its age once too often. The musical effects are often striking, with the tenor aria 'Amor ti vieta' the highlight of Act 2. The opera's most famous gesture is the use of an onstage piano (the brilliant Pascal Rogé in this recording) playing pastiches of Chopin's music in the background while the lovers talk in the foreground in Act 2. And the setting of the opera in the early twentieth century makes it at the forefront of the verismo movement.

Mario del Monaco isn't my cup of tea in this recording; as others have noted, the voice is frequently coarse. On the other hand, his rendering of 'Amor ti vieta' is powerful and without a hint of strain, and on a fourth hearing I liked his performance a lot more.

Magda Olivero is the star of the recording. I don't know why there aren't more documents of her strikingly modern approach to opera singing, which places character and acting as the highest priority. Her Princess has dignity and power – she is convincing as someone who hires men to avenge her lover. And when she kills herself at the end, Olivero's Fedora is equally as robust a figure as Tosca (interestingly, both Tosca and Fedora are based on Sardou plays), taking her life into her own hands rather than being punished by a man.

There are a number of nicely sung secondary roles, with a couple of big names to match. Tito Gobbi is foremost amongst these as De Siriex, a diplomat who acts behind the scenes for much of the opera. I especially like his performance of the comic Russian parody 'La donna russa' in Act 2, and in general this legendary artist is in excellent voice.

The surprise is a brief appearance from Kiri Te Kanawa as the groom Dimitri. In one of her earliest recordings, her floating soprano is at its best and a joy to hear. The other many smaller roles are mostly satisfying, with some dry-toned exceptions.

Lamberto Gardelli's understanding of the varied colours of this music holds the performance together. He keeps the Monte Carlo orchestra under tight control, though the chorus isn't always together.

Nevertheless, this reissue is of great interest to enthusiasts of late nineteenth-century Italian opera, and I for one can't wait for the Holland Park production in the summer.

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