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Puccini: Tosca
Sherrill Milnes, Giacomo Puccini, Zubin Mehta
Puccini: Tosca
Genre: Classical
 
  •  Track Listings (13) - Disc #1
  •  Track Listings (22) - Disc #2

This set--one of at least a dozen full-length Toscas available, is a big, brash, unsubtle affair--not that there's anything wrong with that. Long referred to as a "shabby little shocker," Tosca is a brute of a work, with t...  more »

     
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All Artists: Sherrill Milnes, Giacomo Puccini, Zubin Mehta, New Philharmonia Orchestra, David Pearl, Leontyne Price, Francis Egerton, Plácido Domingo
Title: Puccini: Tosca
Members Wishing: 0
Total Copies: 0
Label: RCA
Original Release Date: 1/1/1986
Re-Release Date: 10/25/1990
Genre: Classical
Styles: Opera & Classical Vocal, Historical Periods, Modern, 20th, & 21st Century
Number of Discs: 2
SwapaCD Credits: 2
UPC: 078635010527

Synopsis

Amazon.com essential recording
This set--one of at least a dozen full-length Toscas available, is a big, brash, unsubtle affair--not that there's anything wrong with that. Long referred to as a "shabby little shocker," Tosca is a brute of a work, with three huge central figures--the opera singer, Tosca, full of jealousy and passion; Cavaroadossi, the idealistic painter who loves her; and Scarpia, the creepy, amoral police chief who wants to get into Tosca's--er--good graces. In the title role, Price is imperious and elegant, and if she's not as nuanced as Callas, well, no one is. Domingo's Cavaradossi ideally suits his voice, and he may not be very interesting, but he sounds great. Milnes is all snarling and lip curling as Scarpia--just right for my money--you really hate him by the time Tosca does him in. Mehta leads an exciting show, and while the orchestra occasionally threatens to drown out the singers, it never quite does. Go for it. --Robert Levine
 

CD Reviews

No One Should Hesitate
William T. Clegg | Pocatello, Idaho United States | 12/25/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)

"Judged on its own merits, this recording of Tosca is nothing less than excellent. Price is a great Tosca, Domingo a near-ideal Cavaradossi--vocally speaking, and Milnes does a great job as Scarpia--although his view of the character is a shade too conventional, in my opinion. Mehta conducts with fire and fury, drawing exciting playing from the New Philharmonia, painting a bright, blazing portrait, even though in doing so he misses some of the finer "brush strokes" which make that portrait so absorbing. The recorded sound is warm and full, if at times a little cramped, and the stage picture isn't always clear. When compared with Price's 1962 recording with von Karajan, this recording comes in a definite second place, and as a dramatic experience it doesn't compare with the 1953 Callas-de Sabata, but no one should hesitate to purchase it. It would make a fine addition to anyone's collection."
My Favorite Tosca
Michael Newberry | Santa Monica | 07/27/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)

"A catastrophic drama, glorious music, magnificent conducting, and three huge operatic stars, add up to exalted experience. Comparing an orange to a peach, I would say that you have the Callas' Tosca and you have Mehta's Tosca; of the two Mehta's conducting tips the balance for me. He has got to be considered a great opera conductor, and probably the best Puccini interpreter of the last 40 years. (Toscanini is another incredible conductor of Puccini.)Milnes has a big, full-bodied, and rich sounding voice and his interpretation is cold and menacing-where a lack of introspective quality is ideal for the melodramatic Scarpia. And Domingo, that guy is simply our gift from the heavens. With a voice that is smoldering and expressive, lilting and passionate, he is perfect as the sensual, non-conformist artist Cavaradossi. Hmmm...Callas vs. Price. Shall I risk ex-communication? Who could doubt that either of them doesn't LIVE FOR ART AND LOVE! And I do think that Callas is the greatest opera singer of the recorded era, but...there is one small nuance of difference for how I feel about their interpretations. I always have this sense that in whatever Callas does there is something competitive, as if she uses her art to trounce her enemies and exalt her fans-and I do think that that is thrilling beyond belief! But with Price, I feel she really lives for and sings for the glory of art and her passionate love. Price's Tosca gets under my skin; it hits the core of my soul.To return to Mehta; he inspires from the orchestra fantastic sound, passionate responses, clarity of detailing, and this all weaves and flows to throbbing and thunderous climaxes (and here the soloists expand into the heavens)!This is the Tosca for me."
This Tosca Takes The Crown
Rudy Avila | Lennox, Ca United States | 10/25/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)

"This studio recording under the baton of Zubin Mehta is undoubtedly the greatest Tosca on record. There is a passionate intensity, a quality of grandeur in voice and dramatic performance that no other recording has mastered. Placido Domingo and Leontine Price are on fire as the power couple Mario and Tosca, while the villainous theatrics of Sherill Milnes are right on target as Scarpia. This same cast recorded a fine Il Trovatore in 1970. This album, though dated to around that time, the 70's, finds the cast in perfect shape. Puccini's music shines like a brilliant fire, and Zubin Mehta truly captures the mood of the opera.



Tosca is another one of those operas that are not easy to perform. The three principal singers- tenor, soprano and baritone/bass have to really deliver all the goods. It's an opera about the three of them- Tosca, her lover Mario and the jealous, powerful Scarpia who is determined to have Tosca for himself and to punish Mario both as a rival and a political enemy. Set in Napoleonic Italy, Mario is an artist secretly working as a revolutionary operative. Tosca is in love with Mario but is soon caught in a vicious web when Scarpia is determined to sleep with Tosca (very likely for only one night). Jealous of the fact her heart belongs to Mario, whom he has always suspected of working for the enemy, Scarpia tortures Mario and makes a deal with Tosca. Our heroine is not the weak Mimi in La Boheme nor the fragile Madame Butterfly. It is Tosca who takes action and though making the deal wit Scarpia, kills him. The role calls for a big voice, a diva, and Leontine Price is the perfect Tosca, with a more beautiful sound than even Maria Callas, to whom is credited the finest Tosca, but I feel mostly for the historic value of her performances. This is a terrific opera with a great cast and with great orchestration. Highly recommended."