Puccini from the past
Here is some information for reader Geoff Woodcock and his search (Letters, March). He is probably played by Andre Kostelanetz and His Orchestra. I remember it well and it had me searching for other orchestral arrangements of operas. Kostelanetz followed up with a , a and a . At about the same time – mid-1950s – there was a longer series of similar recordings done for Kapp Records (in the US, London Records in the UK) by the Rome Symphony under the direction of Domenico Savino. They were not as well recorded, the sound being somewhat boxy. Most of the series are still available at reasonable prices, as are some of the Kostelanetz, though it will take a bit of searching to find them.
