Tosca has been well-served on CD, with excellent stereo versions by Renata Tebaldi and Leontyne Price, as well as the definitive monophonic Maria Callas interpretation on EMI. What lifts this new Tosca from the pack of also-rans is Angela Gheorghiu's intense portrait of the heroine. She sings with sweep and passion, convincing you of Tosca's varied emotional states, from love and jealousy to honor and desperation. Her stabbing scene is chilling; she spits out the repeated word "Mouri" (die) with terrifying power.