Product description

Puccini: Tosca

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Average customer rating: 3.5

Binding : Audio CD
EAN : 0028941459725
Label : Decca
Manufacturer : Decca
Publisher : Decca
Release date : 1997-09-05
Title : Puccini: Tosca
Format : Array
Original release date : 1986-08
Running time : 114
Studio : Decca
Number of discs : 2

Customer reviews

review by: Parkie date: 2008-07-31 rating:

I've always liked it
I have read negative reviews of this recording before, citing Dame Kiri's performance as the weak aspect. I have always enjoyed this version and bought the CD recently as a back up to the vynil set I bought many years ago. br / br /In my opinion Dame Kiri acts the role as well as sings it. You can hear the desperation, the urgency and the cold fury in her delivery. Opera is sorty telling and I think that here she certainly does her bit to help that along. Too often I have heard singers attempt to cover their lack of acting ability with grandiose ornamentation and hystrionics. These are just the tactics that Puccini shied away from as a composer in the verismo genre. br / br /The Tosca on this recording is a real woman displaying real emotions and responses. Of commercial recordings this is the one I have always preferred. The orchestration is excellent, especially in the Te Deum, as are the performances of all the cast. br / br /The first opera I ever "sat through" was Tosca with Giacomo Aragal and as a opera hater in those days I remember being amazed at his redition of "Vittoria" in the second act, and then Vissi D'arte sealed me as a Puccini fan. br / br /Tosca is an ideal introduction to anyone testing the waters of opera. br /

review by: malc2001 date: 2003-11-15 rating:

A balanced review
I think this Tosca deserves a more balanced review than the hatchet job of the other reviewer. (see also: Penguin guide to Compact Discs). Dame Kiri Te Kanawa's is certainly a unique view of Tosca - over-archingly Kiri's assumption is focused on beauty - this however is not at the expense of the drama. What we have here though is a lack of typical verismo histrionics - this Tosca is no raging shrieking harpie. Kiri here benefits from that special alchemy she shared with Sir Georg Solti (see also Bizet: Carmen, Brahms: German Requiem, Mozart: Marriage of Figaro; Strauss: Four Last Songs; Verdi: Otello; Mahler: Symphony 4; Handel: Messiah - all Decca) that makes one wish that Kiri's Tatyana (Eugene Onegin) and Violetta (La Traviata) had also been made with Solti in the 1980's. This is all backed up by a fabulous supporting cast and recording quality that still stands in the demonstration bracket. I often turn to this - despite acquiring many of the more 'conventional' Toscas over the years - when I want to get close to what I feel is the essence of Tosca.

review by: date: 2001-10-23 rating:

Te Kanawa is miscast as Tosca
If you are looking to buy a set of Puccini's great opera then definitely don't purchase this set with Te Kanawa who is totally miscast. I would like to know exactly what the Decca producers were thinking when they decided to record this most dramatic of operas with Kiri Te Kanawa. Te Kanawa is renowned for her Mozart and Strauss singing which requires a particular style and technique for which Te Kanawa's voice is ideal. "Tosca" on the other hand requires a soprano voice of spinto quality that can convey the drama of the music. Callas was perfect for this part but Te Kanawa only lives up to her nickname "Dreary Kiri" in this recording! She should never have agreed to record this part. brGiacomo Aragall and Leo Nucci are both good in their roles as Cavaradossi and Scarpia respectively, however any positive qualities from these two are overshadowed by Te Kanawa's boring and dire performance!

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