On Arts 47327; 2 CD's; "This recording is a considerable success, and because the recording on Sony Classical with Renee Fleming is far from satisfactory (I would advise anyone to think long and hard before preferring the Fleming/Gatti set to this excellent studio recording), this splendid release is especially welcome. Cecilia Gasdia may not be the raunchiest or most alluring of Armidas but she is a skilled Rossinian and she sings well. Gasdia takes charge and by the time we reach her big Act 2 number she is splendidly in command, singing with a degree of accuracy and spirit that eludes her recorded rivals. The stars of the show, over and above Scimone's wonderfully alert and gutsy I Solisti Veneti, are the three tenors who offer unusually strong support. They acquit themselves especially well in the celebrated Trio in Act 3. Chris Merritt is as persuasive as Rinaldo the warrior (the writing cruelly elaborate) as he is as Rinaldo the bemused but somewhat stilted lover (the musical challenges of the Act 3 duet are expertly negotiated). William Matteuzzi is also superb, both as Goffredo and as Carlo, his stainlessly gleaming tone apt to the bright world of chivalric endeavour. To these, Bruce Ford, marginally darker voiced, is the perfect complement. The bass plays a smaller part in the action, but Ferruccio Furlanetto is very fine indeed. As well, Scimone's I Solisti Veneti come splendidly into their own. Scimone himself (whose performing edition this is) is effective and his contribution is a most distinguished one. Technically, the recording is excellent: good, clean sound in a pleasantly open acoustic. This is a set that would still be my first choice by some distance, and it is an operatic bargain no one interested in Italian or early romantic opera should knowingly ignore." [Richard Osborne; From reviews in "Gramophone"]
