Customer Reviews

Puccini: Tosca (complete opera) with Maria Callas, Carlo Bergonzi, Tito Gobbi, Georges Pretre

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It's common to talk about the 1953 de Sabata recording at the expense of this one. I would not do without either. This one has several advantages: 1) Though Callas's voice has deteriorated, she is in her skinny Callas voice here, not the fat Callas voice (where she sounds like she's singing into a bottle.) I like both, but if you prefer thin Callas, this is the Tosca for you; 2) This is a more histrionic TOSCA -- that doesn't make it better or worse, but it's definitely different enough to set it apart; 3) Her Vissi D'arte is her best, ever, and she recorded it many times; 4) The stereo sound is gorgeous; 5) I prefer De Stefano, but Bergonzi brings something special to this, too; 6) Gobbi, in the spirit of this production, pulls out the dramatic stops. This is the melodramatic TOSCA, and the '53 is the dramatic TOSCA. Two versions, both great.

Callas' 1953 Tosca will always be my favorite, but this one is almost as good. I know that a lot of people say it's not nearly as good as the 1953 recording, but I disagree. Callas' voice was certainly in better condition in 1953, but I think her interpretation had strengthened and deepened since then. She gives an emotional, intense performance here. And she sings the greatest "Vissi d'arte" ever! I love the one on the 1953 recording, but this one is even more emotional and moving.

Gobbi is probably the greatest Scarpia ever, and I think his interpretation has also strengthened since 1953. Bergonzi gives a wonderful performance as Mario. I love di Stefano in the 1953 recording, but Bergonzi is also great. This recording is definitely one of my favorites.

This 1965 Tosca has been reviled by virtually every critic, including the most fervent admirers of Maria Callas. They'll steer you to the classic 1953 recording. I have both, but find myself more often turning to this one.
Callas in 1953 had a healthier and more secure voice, but if she was shrill a dozen years later, her middle register and soft notes were, to my ears, lovelier and more touching.
De Sabata's feverish conducting on the mono set is a memento of a genius who made too few recordings, but Pretre gives more breadth to this opera's stately Roman lines.
By the same token, Bergonzi -- that prince among tenors -- is more elegant than Di Stefano, whose robust voice matches De Sabata's conception and Maria's earlier vocal (and physical) heft.
The critics say Gobbi was sub-par in '65, but for me he is still... Gobbi.
In sum, buy both if you can -- and if you like early Callas and Di Stefano, note that they were even more thrilling in Mexico City in 1952 -- but don't be surprised if you find yourself loving this neglected gem.

This was one of my first purchases of a recording with Maria Callas and 15 years later this is still my number one recording.

The voice of Callas conveys the feelings of the woman in love, a woman jealous, the woman in pain. Callas does that in a way that no other voice or any other of her recordings (or for that matter any other Tosca recording) has ever been able to convey.

Tito Gobbi as Scarpia has remained unsurpassed and in this recording he has managed to capture the role as no other baritone has done before or ever since.

Carlo Bergonzi, equally good works together with Callas and Gobbi to create an atmosphere that you can ?feel? through this recording. Just close your eyes and you will be there.

I could not recommend a recording more highly. Listen to it and you will not forget it. Every second of it is an experience. Even to the last minute when the last act Callas when she sings ?Presto, su Mario!? will make you feel the hair at the back of your neck rise as she discovers Mario dead.

Simply an experience not to be missed.

This soundtrack is all that remains of a failed Zefirelli project to film Callas in "Tosca". This accounts for the drama and immediacy of this recording. Yes, the voices were younger and more secure in the earlier De Sabata recording but the advantages in the stereo set balance nicely with that one. Maria Callas voice by this point was so forward that she has difficulty with the top notes but also manages to put forth the drama with an intensity that she never could before. The stereo sound also compensates for her intrusive wobble. What a shame that her career did not coincide more with the stereo age! She still is the Tosca of all times. Carlo Bergonzi's voice is pure gold even though he does not give a particularly vividly dramatic portrait of Cavaradossi. Tito Gobbi still has all the nuances of Scarpia's character even if his voice has more of a bark in it than his previous recording. He and Callas also had the advantage of working with Zefirelli in his London/Paris production at this time and were able to sharpen their characterizations. Pretre allows Puccini's melodies space to breathe and doesn't propel them the way De Sabata does. Vocally, there are better recordings of this opera but, from a dramatic standpoint, this bears away the laurels.

This recording was the last complete recording Callas ever recorded in the studio. Originally this should serve for a film of Tosca as directed by Herbert von Karajan. When this project was abandoned the "soundtrack" remained, offering us the deepest portrayal of Tosca on disc. Of course Callas' voice isn't as rich as on the miraculous recording from 1953 but compared to 1960-63 her voice has grown steadier and more balanced, more beautiful in the middle and the mezzo-range. Her "Vissi d'arte" alone is worth the entire price. And having Gobbi&Bergonzi as partners makes this Tosca absolutely essential for everyone who wants to know what TOSCA is about.

I was only 14 when this recording was released, and i literally grew up with this visceral, exciting, truly unforgettable musical/theatrical experience. I remember that in the original booklet with the vinyl record album, Tito Gobbi was quoted as saying while listening to takes of the recording . . . " I have never ever heard such a dramatic presense on a recording like this before."
He wasn't being immodest, there was a riveting chemistry between all of the artists. In my mind, even after all these years, i can hear every note.
There are many really wonderful recordings of Puccini's dramatic masterpiece, Tosca. This one, though, is unique in that it achieves real theatrical presense.
The ending alone, when Callas (Tosca) finds her lover Mario "really" executed and screams like no soprano i've ever heard, is worth the price of the entire album. But, then, there are so many moments . . . I heartily suggest you consider adding this recording to your Puccini collection . . . put on the discs, turn down the lights, and prepare yourself for a truly thrilling exciting performance. I doubt that we will see the like of Callas and Gobbi again.

Anthony Plumer

I'm glad that this much reviled 1964 Tosca has found defenders here at amazon. Forty years after the fact, the tut-tutting over the decline in Callas's voice doesn't seem to matter very much, given that her equal in dramatic force hasn't come along. Here she is more intense and at time terrifying than in her classic 1953 recording, and there are other advantages overall. EMI's stereo sound is excellent, whil eht boxy mono from 1953 hasn't gotten much better even with lots of remasterings.

As far as the tenor goes, Bergonzi is at his most beautiful, far outstripping di Stefano in terms of style. but he is a bit of a gentleman as Cavaradossi, a role where di Stefano tore out his heart (to the point of being unnerving). Gobbi is more or less the same, although the passage of a decade has robbed him of sheer vocal power.

To me, the great drawback here is Pretre. by 1964 callas had lost much of her confidence, and she needed a reassuring friend in the pit, a funciton Pretre performed for her. We have him to thank for this recording and her late, mesmerizing Carmen. But retre is a coarse, unsteady conductor, and he had the bad idea of revving up Puccini's score, which God knows was purple enough to begin with.

I hope I've given a fair assessment of the pluses and minuses of this recording. Callas herself deserves five stars dramatically--in fact, she transcends the need to rank her, so great is her artistry.

A fact of life with this recording is that Callas' voice was past its vocal prime, in fact, a few short years after the recording was made, she never appeared in opera again. But this recording is a favorite of mine because it is rich in dramatic intensity from both Callas and Gobbi. In fact, the second act confrontation is certainly more seasoned and more interesting and satisfying than the historical mono version made in 1953. There's also the wonderful Cavarodossi of Bergonzi who was in the full bloom of his prime. His voice is just gorgeous here.

If possible, I would get both recordings, although exercise caution when purchasing the 1953 version because EMI's engineering team cleaned up more the tape hiss. They actually ruined some of the effects such as Tosca's approaching "Mario, Mario, Mario", which now sounds like Callas is right in front of the microphone, which was not the effect the producer Walter Legge wanted. Look for the Great Recordings of the Century edition, the deluxe set which is still available. Or, the recent Naxos re-recording from actual well preserved vinyls.

I entirely agree that Callas's performance is mesmerizing, even though she was way past her vocal prime when she made this recording. She sounds shrill and larger-than-life, the operatic equivalent of a silent-movie actress as she uses every trick in the book to compensate for what she cannot do with her voice. But isn't Puccini himself responsible for making Tosca a shrill, larger-than-life figure? This is melodrama at its best--it may be unsubtle, but who cares as long as it breaks your heart. Gobbi's performance runs along the same lines--he too was past his prime, and his Scarpia is a bit of a caricature, a B-movie villain with Boris Karloff makeup. However, sparks fly during the second-act duet, and the murder scene has me glued to my seat every time I listen to it. (This is the only Tosca who doesn't really need a knife at all--there is enough venom in her "muori dannato" to kill off a dozen Scarpias.)

My main problem with this recording is that the conductor (Georges Prêtre) fails to convey a sense of continuity and structure. As a result, the opera turns into a series of show-stopping moments: taken individually, each one somehow manages to impress due to the overheated singing, but there is no sense of dramatic progression, and the endless succession of climaxes becomes rather tiring as all sense of perspective is lost. Puccini surely deserves better than this, as De Sabata brilliantly demonstrates. In addition, I wonder why Bergonzi was chosen to sing Mario in this recording--his glorious voice is a delight, and his musicianship is impeccable, but with Callas and Gobbi both throwing caution to the winds, he sounds as if he came from another planet. (The stereo sound is very vivid, but the voices are miked too closely, which is regrettable as every vocal blemish is made much more audible than it would have been in the theater. Indeed, both Callas and Gobbi sound distinctly better in their live recordings from London and New York, which were made at approximately the same time, but with microphones placed at a sufficient distance to capture what the audience actually heard.)

To my mind, the best of the late Callas _Toscas_ is not this recording, but the live 1964 version from London, in which Callas is more intelligently supported by a conductor (Carlo Felice Cillario) who puts her performance into better perspective and helps her explore the character's vulnerable side instead of merely allowing her to go over the top all the time.