I will admit that it was initially jarring to hear such a quintessentially French opera sung in Italian, but after about five minutes you start to see how there are more similarities in the styles than differences.
Alfredo Kraus is perfect as Nadir and he is able to cope with both the declamatory moments of the opera as well as extremely deft usage of voix-mixe in his aria. Giuseppe Taddei is a gruff but ultimately sympathetic Zurga and nearly steals the show with his aria. Pina Margarini delivers a fine Leila. ybr> The sound is good.