Powerful performance with a cast that's hard to beat
In terms of concept, design and staging, there is nothing particularly innovative, imaginative, original or even too exciting about Jonathan Kent's direction for this 2011 Royal Opera House production of Tosca. It adheres to the period locations and action as they are laid out in the original libretto, each of the three acts recognisably taking place in specific locations in Rome - Act 1 in the church of Sant' Andrea, Act 2 in the Palazzo Farnese, Act 3 on top of the Castel Sant' Angelo - actual locations that have been used in the past for filmed versions of Puccini's opera. If there's little that is striking about the stage designs, which are functional at best, Kent stages the dramatic action within them to the full extent of the verismo realism that the opera calls out for. What distinguishes a good traditional production of Tosca from all the others however, and what makes this Royal Opera House production something special, is the casting and the ability of the performers to...
A star-studied presentation that fully deserves a starry rating
This recording of Tosca created from performances on July 14 and 17 in 2011 brings together artists of considerable renown for a short run. These are Angela Gheorghiu as Tosca, Jonas Kaufmann as Cavaradossi and Bryn Terfel as Scarpia. To these must be added the considerable expertise of the conductor, Antonio Pappano. The production by Jonathan Kent has become a staple fixture in the Royal Opera repertoire and is unashamedly `traditional' in its concept.
The combination of such talents raised expectations that something very special could be achieved. As one who has a number of recordings by all of these artists, I can honestly state that, in my opinion, none of them has delivered anything finer individually and that this combination has resulted in a recording of Tosca that is gripping from start to finish and may well have exceeded even the most optimistic hopes of all concerned.
It must be made clear from the start that this is certainly not the performance...
The best vocal characterisation of Floria Tosca on record!
Since I love Puccini's music a lot, and Tosca particularly so, I have gathered at home quite a collection of older recordings and more recent DVDs with the full opera. I have also seen it performed on stage a half dozen times. Angela Gheorghiu accomplishes a truly outstanding rendition of Floria Tosca, clearly surpassing in musicianship and vocal characterization older renditions by Callas (I have in mind the Callas- Di Stefano disc), Tebaldi (both Tebaldi - del Monaco disc and Tebaldi - Di Stefano), Kabaivanska (Kabaivanska - Domingo disc), L. Price (Price - Corelli disc), S. Verrett (Verrett - Pavarotti disc) and M. Freni (Freni - Pavarotti disc).
I won't bother enumerating the more contemporary recordings (Cedolins, Magee), because they are so far behind in quality that they will soon be forgotten.
As if Gheorghiu's performance wasn't enough of a marvel, this recording also benefits from a strong Cavaradossi (Kaufmann) and a very distinctive Scarpia (Bryn...
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