Customer Reviews

Giacomo Puccini: Tosca - Mirella Freni / Plácido Domingo / Samuel Ramey / Philharmonia Orchestra / Giuseppe Sinopoli

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It's great to realize that people born in this century can give THE definitive performance of any opera. Everybody who is still listening to Leindsorf and De Sabata directing Tosca in the early 50s, and crying out "Sound is a mess!" can forget the old recordings... Sinopoli's Tosca is just the greatest opera-set released lately: powerful orchestral colors, perfect tempi, and an exciting interpretation. Mirella Freni is the ideal Tosca, as well as she is the ideal Mimì, the ideal Butterfly and the ideal Manon. She's sexy without being vulgar (too many Toscas are!), passionate without being too pathetic, and she sounds younger than she did in her early recording with Rescigno. Cavaradossi is one of the top roles of Domingo (like Otello, Samson and Don Josè). His singing here is beautiful, despite some diction problems (i.e. "Nei ritrar costei..."). Ramey is the best Scarpia ever: his frightening voice and his perfect italian pronunciation are completed by his terrific interpretation of the character. Wow!!! Terfel, Laciura and, most of all, Veccia give thoughtful and accurate performances (what a "Sagrestano"!!!)-- Mac

While most everyone would agree that it is simply impossible to better the famous Callas-de Sabata recording of "Tosca," this recording must definitely be regarded as a worthy contender. This is the best Tosca available in modern sound, and quite spectacular at that. Many moments will raise the hair on the back of your neck. Domingo is a very good Cavaradossi, but a little vague dramatically. Freni and Ramey are where the show lies on this set. Ramey is a Scarpia like no other -- dignified and noble, commanding respect through his presence instead of by barking at people. Freni sings beautifully and powerfully, with dramatic conviction and some gorgeously spun pianissimi. Sinopoli's conducting is disctinctive (as usual) without being distracting. He knows when to linger over a phrase and when to propel the action forward. If you want the best Tosca in stereo sound, this one can't be beat.

I heard part of this recording of Tosca over the radio and was so impressed by the performance that I wanted to hear the entire recording. What drew my attention was Samuel Ramey's Scarpia, sung with such charm and menace that makes him a perfect villain. I was more familiar with the Maria Callas recording with Di Stefano from the 1950's but I found the Sinopoli recording very impressive. Callas makes a great strong willed heroine but Mirella Freni comes across, for me, as a woman of extremes; fiery when jealous but easily crushed by the evil intentions of Scarpia. Her performance has many facets and her performance is superb. Ms. Freni shines in the first act as she confronts Cavaradossi with her imagined affair and is defiant and horrified as her lover is tortured by Scarpia. Her singing of Vissi d'arte, vissi d'amore was sensitively sung. Placido Domingo makes a fine Cavaradossi and is in great voice giving us a sensitive performance of E lucevan le stelle in the final act and acting every inch the hero as he is tortured in the second. Bryn Terfel makes an excellent Agnelotti, a supporting role that was luxury casting. Samuel Ramey is a perfect Scarpia, charming to Tosca and threatening to his subordinates. The photograph of him in character on the back of the booklet says it all; he is elegant but must be feared.

Giuseppe Sinopoli is very effective in bringing out the many emotions of the score and the Philharmonia Orchestra play marvelously. The recording is bright and clear and the tempos are nicely chosen. I recommend this recording on all points: cast, orchestra and conductor.

In the year 2004, I had the pleasure of seeing Tosca at the Met. The Franco Zefferelli set was like Mount Olympus to the Gods. To my delight, the Baron was played by the ever appetizing Samuel Ramey. He shared the stage with Maria Guleghina and Franco Farina. The performance was awesome all the way to when Tosca fell like a ton of bricks to the strains of "E lucevan le Stelle." However, in my mind, I pictured Mirella Freni taking the leap because she was/is my first Tosca and my first love.

After seeing pictures of Maria Callas as Tosca in the Met's lobby, I decided to add another Tosca to my collection to go with this Freni/Domingo/Ramey recording. (Forgive me Callas fans) I was a little dissapointed with Callas. I didn't like Callas's voice; I guess because I kept comparing her's to Freni's. But, fans who witnessed Callas's Tosca on stage say she ruled the part. I imagined that firey Greek diva acted the hell out of the part, and her beauty entranced the audiences. But, first impressions last forever with me.

This recording made me an opera fan and especially a Mirella Freni fan.

Freni's maturity in the spinto arena makes this recording with Domingo far better than her younger Tosca recording with Pavarotti. However, a Mario is a Mario, and Mario has to be played by any one of the three Tenors if you are going to buy a Tosca.

The highlight of this opera is the Torture scene! Freni's desparation matches so well with the devilish tones of Ramey's Scarpia. Domingo's "E lucevan le stelle" is a sound for soar ears. He taught me how to sing this aria, and now I want to sing on stage too. Buy this opera! You won't regret it!

This recording is unquestionably the Tosca with the most character integrity and dramatic conviction. I own several Toscas and always feel this one is the "One"- despite the fact that the biggest majority of opera cognoscenti will forever argue that the 1950 something Maria Callas/Di Stefano/Gobbi recording is the greatest of them all. Callas was Callas, and at least got people into opera due to her celebrity, but Mirella Freni shows off a controlled, dramatic side with experienced technique and dramatic commitment. Hers was originally a purely lyric voice and indeed she sang successfully in ingenue roles like Marguerite in Faust, Mimi in Boheme, Violetta in Traviata, Micaela in Carmen and so on. But even then, her voice had a dramatic undercurrent just waiting to explode. As Tosca, she is on fire, passionate and never melodramatic. And her voice is perfectly suited for "Vissi D'Arte" as much as for the famous scene in which she stabs Scarpia "Questo il bacio di Tosca! Muori Danato Muori! E Morto..or gli perdono". Through sheer will power and proper training, she did more than any other lyric-soprano in her time were able to do. For instance, Beverly Sills, herself a fine lyric soprano, was never able to take on Tosca. Supporting Mirella Freni's Tosca, is Placido Domingo as Cavaradossi in excellent shape (note how he sings with masculinity and idealistic romance in "Ricondito Armoni" and also does justice to the high tenor tessitura of "Vittoria! Vittoria!". Domingo's voice blends well with Freni in duets and they have worked together before successfully on stage and in recording - Fedora, Don Carlo, Manon Lescaut. In Samuel Ramey's Scarpia, we have the embodiment of an evil and lusty power figure. He has the sonorous, appropriately devilish tone and his acting was top-notch. He is considered the heir to Tito Gobbi, and thats my own assessment. This recording is conducted well by Sinopoli, no stranger to opera, and the music comes alive with sublime technicality. Very few recordings are like this one. Add to your collection of Toscas. Other singers as Tosca I admire are Leontyne Price, Birgit Nilsson, Katia Ricciarelli and Galina Vishnevskaya. Other Scarpias I admire are Tito Gobbi, Dietrich Fischer Dieskau, Sherill Milnes, Cornell McNeil, Ruggero Raimondi and Justino Diaz. Mario Cavardossis I love include Giuseppe Di Stefano, Franco Corelli, Jose Carrerras and Roberto Alagana.

The reason I baught this CD for is mainly because I'm a big fan of Domingo. And, objectively, it is a great set...one of those many great toscas available. Callas' tosca with De Sabata, Di Stefano & Gobbi was always considered as a reference...I will go thru a comparison of these two great recordings:

SOUND QUALITY: Well..the sound on the EMI's set with callas...even though remastered is just average whereas this one has Digital recording...

TOSCA: I think Callas' tosca, dramatically speaking is the greatest ever. Freni has a more beautiful voice but which lacks intense dramatic effects. This is mostly based on the second act and the finale of both recordings.

SCARPIA: Well...no one can beat Gobbi. Ramey is EVIL but far beyond Gobbi.

Cavaradossi: G.Di Stefano is a lyric tenor. However, he offered a great cavaradossi with great intensity. And to be honest I think he looked much more "dramatic" than Domingo in the 2nd act. But the spanish tenor has the nobility that few other tenors have. His understanding of the role and his voice acting is really exceptional. I would personally go more toward Domingo's.

CONDUCTING: Both are great. The sound quality gives more advantage to sinopoli.

I think the greatest Tosca recording is the De SABATA's. However this new recording (no so new but..)offers the greatest TOSCA on digital recording...so your choice! (my advice get both!...you should also get a Tebaldi live recording)

Bugs Bunny said, "You either love opera or you hate it." That is true, but hilarious as the Warner Bros. cartoons are there are finer shades of distinction at work. If you are an opera lover, then there is the decision of which operas you love. It's tough to love them all. Then there is the preference of one recording over another.

I am no operatic expert, nor do I have the time or inclination to spend years and years comparing CDs and going to hundreds of concerts turning myself into a seasoned connossieur. But I do love opera. I do love Tosca. And I do love this recording.

Tosca is a powerful, emotional, vigorous opera, and Sinopoli handles this with ease. (Come on--he conducted Elektra!) It begins with some of the most roaring brass I have ever heard played--continued, of course, throughout the opera. Puccini liked his brass. And then it goes on through Puccini's excellent music, taking a somewhat formulaic plot and turning it into something much, much better. It's amusing, because as a book Tosca probably wouldn't hold my attention; as an opera I listen to it frequently.

Mirela Freni does a pretty good job as Tosca (I've never sung the role--being a man complicates matters--but I can tell from the sound of it that it's quite tough), though her voice sounds somewhat too old for the role. Tosca is supposed to be at most in her early 20's, perhaps younger, and Ms. Freni was considerably older at the time. Still, though, her voice is quite good.

Placido Domingo is excellent as Mario--Tosca's lover and the hero of the opera, for those who know not the plot. He doesn't have the bullroar of Jon Vickers or the smoothness of Pavarotti, but he has a distinctive--and seemingly indestructable--voice, which is excellent here.

And there is, of course, Samuel Ramey. This man has to vie for place as my favorite singer, period. I *love* his voice, and for playing Scarpia, one of opera's most insidious villains, it is simply perfect. The man can cut through the entire Philharmonia Orchestra *and* the Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and still make himself heard. Quite awesome. Get this recording just to hear him, if for nothing else. It is totally worth it.

Tightly conducted and well-sung, this is a great recording of Tosca, and highly recommended. Go out and buy it!

Puccini saw Victorien Sardou's play La Tosca and recognized the potential for a highly dramatic opera. At the heart lies a dramatic plot revolving around jealousy, revenge and melodramatic tragedy. The villainous Scarpia, a public official and supposed devout Catholic, lusts after the singer Floria Tosca. However, Tosca is in love with the artist and idealist Mario Caravadossi. In the immediate aftermath of Napoleon's reign, Italy is freed but politically unstable. The artist-hero Mario is also a revolutionary liberal who has been living a secret life in opposition to the politics of the day, and the law enforced by Scarpia. When Scarpia realizes he cannot have Tosca for himself, he schemes and arranges Mario's execution. This causes Tosca so much pain and despair that she leaps off a high building to her death. The strength of the opera lies in the drama, in the powerfullly delivered lines not only in the dialogues but in the singing. The lead roles of Tosca and Mario call for dramatic singers. In the 50's, Maria Callas made an impressive Tosca and raised the bar for future sopranos who would follow in her footsteps. After Callas, such dramatic sopranos (some of them being mezzo sopranos as well) took on the role of Tosca with great success. Sopranos such as Grace Bumbry, Leontine Price, Mirella Freni and Hildegard Behrens. Mario has been a juicy role for such tenors as Placido Domingo who delivers a powerful and moving performance in this recording. The role of Scarpia, opera's meanest villain, is well-done at the hands of Samuel Ramey. Ramey is a terrific baritone-bass and always acts with credibility. He finds himself the equal to the more talked about Cornell Mcneill's Scarpia.

This recording is conducted by Sinopoli who makes the score sound Wagnerian and treats us with high-powered drama in much the same dynamic way that Herbert Karajan did back in the 50's. And Mirella Freni ? Who would have thought that the light, lyric voice of this Italian soprano could have reached the heights of the larger voice Tosca demands ? She delivers a knock out performance. Although it was said that she ruined her voice by taking on difficult and demanding roles such as Tosca. She proved them wrong. Even on this recording ,which finds Mirella Freni past her prime, she sounds sensational.

As for Placido Domingo, if you want just one good reason to get this recording he is why. Domingo IS Mario Cavaradossi. He puts so much of himself, so much passion and pathos to the performance that he clearly becomes a living proof that tenors are also dramatic actors. He touches us with such moving arias as "E Lucevan La Stelle" and convinces us of his suffering during the torture scene and in his confrontation with Scarpia. This recording is superb and a must have for fans of the true Tosca. Look also for Domingo in a live 1985 broadcast from the Met in Tosca with Cornell Mcneill as Scarpia and Hildgard Behrens as Tosca. That performance is also under the baton of Maestro Sinopoli.

Never have the big opening chords associated with Scarpia come over with such brutal strength! This is a big boned recording from the conductor and all the principals. Sinopoli is slow, brooding and terribly dramatic. The set is worth having for him alone. However, Freni is possibly the most dramatic Tosca on disc. At this late stage in her career she securly hits all the high notes and digs into the role as I have never before heard. She is chilling and her chest voice must be the envy of all mezzos let alone sopranos! WOW!
Domingo is, as expected, fantastic.....varied, music, dramatic. One surprise is Ramey, who often sounds very stiff in romantic music. Yes, he is still a bit stiff here, but it's appropriate. He is fully in character and full of snarls. A very impressive characterization.
A Tosca for the millenium!

This recording of TOSCA has very singular exchequers. Principally the direction of the recently deceased Giuseppe Sinopoli is bold and rewatching. With his managing of the rhythm, graduation of intensities and accompaniment to the singers, really he provokes renewed impressions in this so popular and known work: la vita mi costasse, the TEDEUM, Piu Forte! Piu Forte!, between others they never sound like before.Domingo, in his probably more mature interpretation of the disc and possessing the best sound, marvel us with his arias and interventions. Ramey, bass in role of baritone,contributes a dark and theatrical interpretation (especially his "death"). The Freni with Italian temperament is elevated in her duets with Cavaradossi-Domingo and transmits the drama of Tosca. The secondary singers are efficient and the sound is brilliant and balanced in all its planes. Only the sound effect of the Cavaradossi's execution is disappointing. Deservedly, this recording has joined to the references in the last rankings.