What's even rarer than a performance of Rienzi? A performance of Rienzi in Italian. What makes this recording more that just a curio is the presence of such singers as Giuseppe Di Stefano and Raina Kabaivanska who lend credibility to the venture. Di Stefano sings his famous aria with the same line that he brought to the many Bel Canto operas that he appeared in and it is quite beautiful. Kabaivanska sings with ethereal tone.