There definitely was a difference of opinion the night this performance was recorded in Paris. Most of the audience love the singers, but a few vocal members express their displeasure with whistling and booing after Stella's "Vissi d'arte" and during Corelli's "E lucevan le stelle" (Corelli stops and yells something (?) back at the heckler.) Stella is in good shape although the top Cs are a struggle. She eschews some, but not all of her habitual weeping when things get tough for Tosca.Corelli is good, if not quite as powerful as he usually is. His Act Two "Vittoria!" is exciting. Bacquier shouts less here than he normally did as Scarpia. The supporting singers are good. In Act Two the performance fades out immediately after Spoletta's "Si, come Palmieri" so we lose the last eight minutes of the act and the climax of the opera. I miss the opening of Act Three less.The sound is certainly listenable though the tapist struggles to stay still for the first seven minutes or so, knocking the mic around and causing that unpleasant rustling sound so typical of in-house tapes. But it all gets sorted out by Cavaradossi's first entrance. All three leads can be heard to better advantage elsewhere, but this is still enjoyable.

Soirée du 4 Mars 1970 . Les quelques hueurs sur E lucevan le stelle se voient traiter de voyous dans le public . Corelli hors une petite goutte de salive qui rend un diminuendo périlleux est égal à sa légende . Bacquier demeure un des 3 ou 4 plus grands Scarpia . Stella n'a peut-être pas un timbre rare mais elle assure parfaitement .