Tosca Opera

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.

Luciano Pavarotti will always be associated with the role of the painter Cavaradossi in Puccini's Tosca. His interpretations of the arias "Recondita armonia" and "E lucevan le stelle" became two of his greatest hits, which he sang at all his stadium concerts .

"This is certainly one of the most stunning productions in a house famous for stunning productions." (Newark Star-Ledger) "Behrens sang admirably in her own exciting style, with the bright tone and house-filling penetration that we have come to expect of this artist". (The New York Times) " Domingo's Cavaradossi is a gorgeous piece of singing". (New York magazine)

The Great Classics series from Naxos is the perfect introduction to myriad genres of classical music. Comprising both complete and compiled selections from the greatest works in the repertoire, the boxes are bursting with wonderful pieces of music, both recognizable and unfamiliar. The boxes take the listener on a thrilling tour of some of the worlds most dramatic musical media, encompassing music from six centuries and featuring sensational performers.

This Swedish opera star's flair for dramatic roles (not to mention his distinctively beautiful voice) made him one of the most in-demand tenors in the world. This set collects the best of Bjorling's EMI solo recordings plus highlights from the three complete operas he recorded for his longtime label. He sings La Donna E Mobile Verdi; E Lucevan Le Stelle Puccini; Cielo E Mar Ponchielli; Mi Batte Il Cor O Paradiso Meyerbeer; Instant Charmant En Ferment Les Yeux Massenet, plus Borodin, Gounod, Sibelius and more!

“Jonas Kaufmann as Cavaradossi sings perhaps one of his greatest roles: E lucevan le stelle is unbelievably moving, and his cry of "Vittoria! Vittoria!" is guaranteed to make your hair stand on end! Angela Gheorghiu is a passionate Tosca, and Bryn Terfel unctuously oozes sleaze in a chilling portrayal of Scarpia.” (James Longstaffe)

The Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin and conductor Carlo Montanaro present a powerful interpretation of Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca, together with a cast of soloists including Melody Moore (Tosca), Ștefan Pop (Cavaradossi) and Lester Lynch (Scarpia). Tosca has been an audience favourite from the onset. Premiered in 1900, it marks the beginning of twentieth- century opera, in which sex, violence and the uncanny abysses of the human psyche would be explored, inspiring composers to expand the musical means of expression in all thinkable ways.

Tosca was revived to great acclaim at La Scala in this 2000 production, which built on Luca Ronconi's 1996 version with musical direction from principal conductor Riccardo Muti and Lorenza Cantini's nightmarishly distorted set. Puccini's most recorded opera is loved and derided in equal measure for its high-octane dramatics, rich arias and the fire-spitting exchanges of the eponymous heroine and her wily tormentor Scarpia. Under Muti, the music takes precedence over the self-conscious theatricality of the book. As a result, some high dramatic points–the stabbing, always tricky, and Tosca's suicide, equally dicey–are underplayed here.