Although I adore Olivero I don't find her voice here as compelling as it often is; it could be the recording, or maybe something subjective, but the trademark vibrato is not always pleasant. Her artistic/emotional choices are always interesting and effective, nothing is taken for granted. The Butterfly excerpts are fine and exciting.

"Quanto? Il prezzo!", not "Quando?" That would be an entirely different matter!

I agree totally with David McKee's views on this performance. One thinks one is hearing the opera for the first time. The text and vocal parts sound like they have been restudied for the occasion. Olivero shows exactly why she became such a cult figure with her detailed, fiery, yet vulnerable account of the eponymous heroine. She chooses to sing the famous "Quando? Il prezzo!" and makes it work. Her top notes are spot on, her "Vissi d'arte" a masterclass in phrasing and word coloring.Fernandi's voice hadn't lost the sheen it would shortly and he too sings beautifully. Colombo is a lighter voiced Scarpia than usual, but he colors and relishes the text with smarmy superiority (he made an excellent studio recording of this opera with Simona Dall'argine now available on the Preiser label).The supporting cast is every bit as good as the principals. Tieri is a fine conductor, leading with authority and spirit. The sound is very good.As filler, Andy gives us a fine selection of Butterfly highlights with Olivero that show how she responded with a live audience. That's also available on Opera Depot and well-worth the small financial investment.

... this studio broadcast makes a compelling case for desert-island status. Every detail of the score has been restudied, giving one the illusion of hearing "Tosca" for the first time. Magda Olivero takes a liberty or two but her vocalism is so stylish, her reading so affecting and expressive that one readily forgives her. She is, simply put, the Tosca of the century. Eugenio Fernandi's pocket pinto has the squillo for the big moments but plenty of sweet effusion for expressing Cavaradossi's lover/artist side. Throw in an aristocratic, highly nuanced Scarpia (Scipio Colombo) and Piero de Palma's definitive Spoletta and you have a "Tosca" that demands a place on your shelves, especially when conducted with such thorough knowledge and well-judged impact as by Emilio Tieri. Bravi tutti!

How wonderful that Opera Depot has released this historic recording, in such beautiful packaging! It is indeed historic since it captures Magda Olivero's first performance, in a 1957 Concert Version for RAI, of Floria Tosca, which was certainly one of her greatest roles, in a opera in which she continued to appear until 1979, during a Metropolitan Opera tour.Here, she is exquisitely musical and dramatically overwhelming, and in fact sings the role come scritto, to astonishing effect. For this reviewer (who saw her on that Met tour), she is the greatest of recorded Toscas.Mme Olivero is not, however, the only reason for this recording: Emidio Tieri conducts with authority, Eugenio Fernandi (who studied with Aureliano Pertile, and is known to collectors as the Calaf in Tullio Serafin's EMI recording of "Turandot," from three months earlier, with Maria Callas and Dame Elisabeth Schwarzkopf) sings a lyrical Mario Cavaradossi, and Scipio Colombo is one of the greatest of Baron Scarpias. The inimitable Piero Di Palma is the classic Spoletta.Scipio Colombo is not a familiar name today, and this was his only appearance opposite La Olivero, but he sings a tremendous villain. Best-known as a champion of new music, he was in the premieres of "Il prigioniero" and "Dialogues des Carmélites." He had recorded "Tosca" for Westminster, in 1951, but is here even more theatrical. Like the soprano, he sings the role, without resorting to shouting and speaking the notated pitches beloved by many a famous Scarpia. Colombo also appeared as Ford in the 1956 film of "Falstaff" also for RAI.To say the least, highly recommended.