Puccini: Tosca - Stella, Corelli, Bacquier; Erede. Paris, 1970

$8.95

Listen to a Sample:

This recording of Tosca, despite its imperfections, still manages to capture the magic when three colossal talents meet on stage. Antonietta Stella is radiant in the title role, singing with both hot-blooded passion and exquisite refinement. Franco Corelli matches Stella in passion if not so much refinement. In an amusing turn, a heckler yells something at him during “E lucevan le stelle” and he answers back. Gabriel Bacquier delivers an elegant Scarpia whose malevolence manages to just bubble to the surface without boiling over. The downside is that the sound is not very good. There is a good portion of Act II missing after “Vissì d’arte” as well as the opening of Act III before Cavaradossi’s entrance.

In Mono

OD 11385-2