Of the recordings, Ethel is best and a bootleg of her final performance suggests she would have been outrageous. I own but never listen to any of the others. The overture never sounds quite right, too smooth or too perfect, the wail of the trumpet too pretty.
Tyne Daly was sick the day they recorded the album, according to all concerned. Which could be why she’s so bad on it. She sounds much better in all of the clips I’ve seen. (She doesn’t sound like herself—just like Bette Midler in the new Hello, Dolly!)
Of the other recordings I have, I like them in this order:
Angela Lansbury
Bernadette Peters
Patti LuPone
Bette Midler
Lisa Kirk/Roz Russell