Tosca – Ghena Dimitrova Mario – Plácido Domingo Scarpia – Attilio d’Orazi Angelotti – Antonio Borrás Sacristan – Gianni de Angelis Spoleta – Diego Monjo Sciarrone/Jailer – Vicente CarrasquerCoro de Asociación Valenciana de Amigos de la Opera - Orquesta Municipal de Valencia 1977 – Eugenio Mario Marco

Ghena Dimitrova never got to record Tosca in the studio so this gives us a chance to hear what she did with the role in front of an appreciative audience. She is in splendid voice, having no difficulty with any of Puccini's considerable demands. She is one of the few Toscas I've heard whose top C in the Act Two cantata can be heard clearly even though she is offstage. She does the murder scene convincingly and her hysterics at the end are believable. Her "Vissi d'arte" is sung with confidence and beauty. The audience loves her and so will you.Domingo is also in excellent voice and encores "E lucevan le stelle" to appease the crowd. Attilio D'orazi offers a venomous, well sung Scarpia. His career would probably have gone farther today. The conductor, Eugenio Mario Marco, holds everything together well and the supporting cast is very good.Basically the sound (probably an in-house source) is very good, the voices clearly heard over the orchestra. There are some problem spots: most of the scene following "Recondita armonia" is a garbled mess because of a worn tape, and there is some wow and flutter in the third act as Cavaradossi is beginning his last scene. It's not a deal breaker though and fans of the singers or the opera should not hesitate to acquire this.

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Whoever recorded this was sloppy and loud.