As the ovation following her first aria faded away, a voice called out across the theater, "Welcome back!" After a four-year absence, Joan Sutherland had returned triumphantly to the Met in an undisputed gem of bel canto repertoire, Lucia di Lammermoor. It was the role that assured her international fame when she first sang it at Covent Garden in 1959 - "a mad scene heard round the world" - and the one which introduced her to Met audiences in 1961 - "Joan Sutherland came, sang, and conquered." Now 21 years later, once again on the Met stage, Dame Joan gives a performance of astounding facility and musical sensitivity. Indeed, as one critic noted, "... the years have deepened Sutherland's own artistry and converted many from admiration to adulation." In the role of Lucia's doomed lover, Alfredo Kraus matches her musicality note for note in a performance bearing the elegance and refinement that has become the veteran tenor's trademark. This performance is Kraus' first commercial recording of Edgardo, a role for which he has been acclaimed throughout the world.