Britten: A Midsummer Night's Dream / Hickox

This 1993 studio recording derives from a stage production, and it shows. The singers are dramatically more convincing than even the excellent cast assembled for the competing versions under Colin Davis (pilips) and the composer (Decca). The urgent, exciting pacing is much more gripping than Davis's carefully considered, measured account. All three condcutors are masterful at the technical level, and anyone who loves Midsummer Night's Dream could be well satisfied with any of the available sets.