All three leads were excellent. Ludgin was one of the greatest baritone of the last century. So glad this performance was recorded.

I didn't expect this performance to be much more than a curiosity, but it's actually one of what I like to call Opera Depot's Sleepers. Eileen Schauler (who just passed away last April at the age of 92) was one of the NYCO's leading divas back in the 60's and 70's and rightly so. She gives a tremendous performance as Tosca, her voice rich and steady, the top blazing and confident. This Tosca is no push-over: the murder scene is ferocious and her scream when she discovers her lover's death rivals Birgit Nilsson's. She fudges the end of "Vissi d'arte" by running out of breath after the top B-flat, but she wouldn't be the first soprano who had that difficulty. Overall, a thrilling, diva-in-the-best-sense performance!Some young tenor named Placido Domingo sings a very fine Cavaradossi and Chester Ludgin is a snake-like Scarpia, another singer who, like Schauler had little, if any, recording career. The performance is very well conducted by R. Jensen. It sounds like there had been some rehearsal as the stage and pit are well-coordinated. The voices are very clearly heard and the English translation is a faithful and singable one. There are a few minor glitches in the tape source, but they are not really a problem.If you love Tosca and/or these singers, this is a necessary acquisition.

The performance and sound quality are good. One complaint, though: Eileen Schauler's name is incorrectly spelled, so that this rare recording of her singing does not come up in searches.

Nice recording of Tosca. Domingo sounds fresh in his young years and very convincing as Cavaradossi. Schauer and Ludgin nice in roles of Tosca and Scarpia. For a change I enjoyed listening to Tosca in English. Orchestra is good. Interesting to hear what was possible in regional opera house in USA in 60's.