"If you treat Zanaida as a vocal concert and forget the drama, there is plenty to enjoy here, not least the colourful, sensuous writing for woodwind ... A cast featuring five sopranos, several of them sounding virtually alike, is never ideal on disc. But while there are no outstanding voices (and words are too often vague), all sing with spirit and a fair sense of style ... Stern paces the opera convincingly and gets some lively, pointed playing from his cosmopolitan period band".
