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First, the good news. Di Stefano is in excellent voice in these recordings. The voice is full-bodied from bottom to top and has a pleasant timbre. The vibrato is at just the right speed--unusual at a time when many singers employed a too-fast vibrato. The pitch is uniformly excellent. The singing technique is also quite good, even if he does occasionally indulge in the scooping that tended to be prevalent in the 1950's. His singing is reasonably expressive. Even though his "Lamento di Federico" lacks the inspired magic of Pavarotti's studio recording, his "Mamma, quel vino e generoso" is very impassioned.Now for the bad news. These are, of course, mono recordings, recorded mostly in the 1950's. That is a strike against them that could not be helped. Unfortunately, that is not the only problem. The sound is excessively dry. Apparently, the acoustics at the La Scala opera house are as dry as a bone. Every drop of resonance has been sucked out of the sound like a sponge. It affects not only the singers but the orchestra as well. Even though these are studio recordings, they sound like they have been recorded "live" in the theater. I have recordings by Jussi Bjoerling which are older than these and sound better with wetter acoustics. Even though these recordings are of historical interest, the poor sound quality pretty much spoils them--at least for me. If you can overlook the poor sound, you might enjoy them.

This 3CD box has a good selection of di Stefano recordings from his prime years (1947-1957). The recorded sound is very good and there is an informative booklet. If the price is not too much more, I would recommend the 10CD set  Charming Voice  AKA  Charming Voice  over this release.

At his best Di Stefano could compare favorably with every tenor except Bjoerling. No one is in Bjoerling's class. No one.

In this set you can hear why. Many of his finest recordings are compiled here. Placido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti both acclaimed him and Enrico Caruso as the tenors they most admired.

I have always believed Giuseppe di Stefano to be the greatest tenor of the second half of the twentieth century. This beautiful collection of his recordings amply bears that out. For those of a similar opinion, or for the "don't knows", this three disc set is highly recommended.

A good collection of excerpts from the famous tenor’s recordings, many of which are classics. Many highlights from the tenor repertoire from Italian opera, other composers also sung in Italian

A great selection of songs/arias, which really showcase the beauty of di Stefano's voice.

Wnderful

For sheer pleasure in the art of tenor singing, Di Stefano is very hard to beat-perhaps Wunderlich by a shade, but opinions certainly differ. For my money, Stefano is about as good as it gets. His diction is splendid and his breath control extremely good. I remember being vastly impressed with his singing when I first heard him back in the 1950s. Every time that I hear him sing my opinion of his talent improves. He also looked the part on the stage, so with his looks and that voice, it is no wonder that he was so popular. I am just so glad that we have some fine recordings of him singing so well.