Tosca
August 2005 Reviewed by: Wes Marshall Format: DVD	(all ratings out of 5): Overall Enjoyment Picture Quality Packaged Extras Sound Quality

Tosca of the past is Maria Callas.
Tosca of our times is Raina Kabaivanska.
-- Luciano Pavarotti

In 1976, European classical arts company Unitel tapped three of the opera world’s top Puccini interpreters for a unique, filmed version of Tosca. In their planning, the company, along with director Gianfranco de Bosio, decided that the distinctive feature of the production would be that it take place in the actual Roman locations specified by Puccini. This dictated using multiple cameras and the same filming approach you would see in a movie as opposed to a document of a live performance in an opera hall.

This tactic raised two problems. First, opera singers are not necessarily trained at the VH-1 School of Precision Lip Syncing, and while the singers, editors, and director work diligently to give the impression that the characters are really belting out those tunes, the charade is glaringly obvious. The other problem comes from the necessity to add Foley effects. In movies, when you hear sounds emanating from the environment of the film, that’s the work of Foley artists. In the opera hall, there is no need for such chicanery, and the folks involved on this film never quite get the sounds correct.

Both of these issues detract from the realism of what one experiences, sometimes painfully.

Still, I rate this as the best version of Tosca available, and likely to remain so for a good while. The reason is the three leads offer so much. First, they present an attractive veracity you don’t find in the other available versions. Appropriately aged (Domingo was 35, Milnes was 41, and Kabaivanska was 42), they were believable in ways that competing stars like Eva Marton, Hildegard Behrens and Leo Nucci couldn’t be. Second, they were all good actors with the confidence to play subtly, not always having to reach for the last rows. This allowed them to work well with the constant close-up cameras. Finally, all were at the top of their powers as singers.

Domingo has recorded Cavaradossi so often, you could make a collection just out of his Tosca performances. Here, he brings the right touch of tragedy, especially in chapter 28, as he telegraphs his knowledge of his fate. Milnes is perfectly oily as the dreaded Scarpia and his singing is both immaculate and impassioned, never more so than in the darkly rapturous "Tre sbirii, una carrozza" (chapter 11).

The star of the proceedings is Raina Kabaivanska. Though not well known amongst casual opera-goers, she has a cult following amongst the art form’s most serious supporters.* Pavarotti’s endorsement at the top of the page should be enough for anyone, but consider this: She sang Tosca more than 400 times, and every time she resisted indolence and honed her interpretation with intelligence and deliberation. It also helps that she was young and attractive enough that you can believe two men might be willing to die for her affection. That we should have such a fine recording of her Tosca while she was at the peak of her powers is a wonderful piece of luck.

Unitel’s filming was spectacular in its day. Today, the mastering looks a little hazy. The sound in 1976 was demonstration quality; today, it only sounds very good. The stereo tracks sounded best to me, though the DTS mastering offered additional space. There are no extras to speak of, though I give it 0.5 points instead of 0.0 because of the interesting previews from other operas.

These quibbles aside, this is the desert island Tosca.

*Fans of Ms. Kabaivanska have put together a charming little website worth checking out at www.rainafan.tk.

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