By 1971 wear-and-tear was already evident in Souliotis' voice. She has no trouble with top notes and there is no wobble in the voice. In fact, the first act sounds quite satisfactory. But the vocal difficulties increase as Tosca becomes more imbroiled in Scarpia's schemes and one begins to hear what a lack of technique and vocal support can do to a good natural voice. Souliotis is never a disaster and her dramatic instincts are as sound as ever. Her "Il prezzo!" in Act Two is garbled (did she forget the words?) and De Fabritiis rushes her at some crucial moments (the murder scene and finale), but her Tosca is enjoyable without being very memorable. Raimondi sings splendidly as does Colzani. The rest of the cast is good. De Fabritiis, normally so attentive, seems distracted at times, the orchestra misaligned with the singers or rushing key moments. The sound is from a good broadcast source, but the end of the Cavaradossi/Angelotti scene (after Cavaradossi 's denunciation of Scarpia) up to Scarpia's questioning of the Sacristan is missing.Fans of the singers should get this.

superbe mario et tosca

TOSCA sits well with Souliotis' voice with her wonderfully fruity middle voice, which resonates well and powerfully here. She doesn't point moments as carefully as other proponents of the role, she is rather a "singing Tosca". The voice in it's upper reaches has a distinctive plaintive sound which gives an inate "face" to her singing. It is a powerful performance. Gianni Raimondi was one of the best post war lyric tenors, and he had some serious competition: di Stefano, Bergonzi, Campora et alia. His voice here towards the end of his career in unimpaired. His "Vittorias" would be the envy of most of his contempories.Anselmo is an excellent Scarpia.The sound is very good in spite of some distortion.