Puccini: Tosca - Collier, Cioni, Bacquier; Downes. London, 1966
$8.95
Listen to a Sample:
Whether or not you find Marie Collier’s voice a perfect fit for the role of Tosca, temperamentally you could not hope for a better exponent. In her hands, Tosca is a woman who is at heart rather withdrawing and insecure, but who is pushed to extraordinary extremes by extraordinary circumstances. In Act II, Collier reacts to Scarpias advances like a scared animal lashing out in a desperate attempt to fend off a predator, as opposed to an evenly matched opponent. Scarpia is sung with brutish elegance by Gabriel Bacquier. Renato Cioni is a non-entity as Cavaradossi, acquitting the music adequately. The sound is good although, unfortunately, the Tosca/Scarpia duet is missing from Act I.
BONUS:
Maria Collier sings excerpts from Aida
Buenos Aires, 1966
OD 11225-2
