This performance has been available on Walhall for years and remains an exciting, well-sung version, recommendable to Puccini and Rysanek fans alike. Tosca auf Deutsch works and these singers are singing in their native language so all of them know what's going on at every moment. Young Leonie is steadier here than she could be and she already has the routine of the role down well. She would find even more dramatic accents later on (in truth, she tended to go over the top, but this is Tosca after all!). Her scream at the end, for example, is less volcanic than it would become. But she still is a force to be reckoned with. Hopf is wonderful in Italian opera, his top ringing out excitingly. Metternich is a terrifying, superbly sung Scarpia. The supporting cast is great and Kraus' conducting keeps everything together neatly.The filler excerpts are from a Tosca that used to be available complete from Opera Depot. The voices are slightly recessed, but are very audible. I wish Andy had given us the murder scene and the last five minutes of the opera as well. One of the best moments here is the blood-curdling scream someone does for King when he is being "tortured" offstage. Moments like these make collecting opera performances so much fun!

For starters, one must mention the impeccable, hi-fi sound quality. Double-bass pizzicati and bass-drum strokes palpitate vibrantly. German-language performances of Verdi and Puccini often hew to a higher degree of musicality than Italian-language ones and this "Tosca" is no exception. Hans Hopf's sweet-toned Cavaradossi belies his reputation as a Wagnerian bellower and Josef Metternich plays his cards close to the vest, at least until "Tre sherri, una carrozza," when Scarpia's animal lust is allowed to emerge. As for Leonie Rysanek, this is a very different Tosca from what her interpretation would evolve into and worth hearing for that reason alone. At age 27, she is (understandably) a lighter, more flirtatious Floria, her charm only exceeded by her insecurity about Mario's love. It is easy to see why this Tosca would be putty in Scarpia's hands. The comprimarios are all excellent save for a Spoletta who seems to have wandered in from Mime's smithy. Richard Kraus conducts firmly but with that lack of imagination which made him the millstone around the neck of many a performance.For comparison of what Rysanek's Tosca and what it would become, it's appended a generous selection of excerpts from a 1970 performance, with the prima donna having evolved into a real tigress. Fortunately, James King and Eberhard Waechter can hold their own, as hero and villain respectively.

This is a concert performance, so voices are placed forward and very present. Rysanek (age 27!) is vocally glamorous and already scrupulous in her attention to every musical and dramatic detail. Listen to the Act 2 cantata! “Vissi d’arte” is the crown jewel of this performance. Hopf is earnest and full throated, missing only that final degree of charisma. Metternich is a suave villain with plenty of verbal point and psychological menace. His henchman, Willy Hofmann as Spoletta is a real worm. Werner Faulhaber is a down-to-earth Sacristan. Carl Hoppe’s Angelotti opens the opera with a “Sprechstimme” worthy of Rod Serling. Herta Topper’s Shepherd can be heard the length of the Tiber. Kraus conducts by the numbers, lacking real Italian “slancio”. CDs also include Tosca excerpts with Rysanek, King, Waechter (Vienna 1970). All three voices are opulent and the performance his hair-raising, but the sound is a little distant.

As stunning and satisfying a Tosca as I have ever heard in many decades of recordings. Metternich so dominates that the 3d Act seems somehow anti-climactic. His rich, menacing voice seems to sweep over everything and reaches into every crook and cranny of the proceedings. Rysanek, as advertised, shimmers and astonishes with well-armed youthful abandon--even if some of her exchanges with Scarpia ring a tad [involuntaryily] shreiky. I don't agree that the Wagnerian heft serves Hans Hopf in general against the lyrical passages, but his \""Vittoria!!\"" is itself almost worth the price of the ticket. Terrific up-front broadcast sound, but don't expect the same high quality from the later \""Bonus Tracks.\""