I have never heard it live, and have clearly not heard every recording but I have heard several, including, inter alia, one of the same vintage featuring E. Power Biggs. So, I suppose I should amend my statement to say "by far the best I have ever heard" ( including the excerpt in the soun...

Terrific version of Kathryn Lewek's performance of the vengence aria in the current Met production of Die Zauberflote:

I had this recording of Saint-Saens Symphony No. 3 and consider it by far the best ever.