puccini tosca opera company of boston 1972

Act 3 is actually filmed inside a chamber in the Farnese Palace. The Te Deum Scene at the end of Act 1 is glorious. He is however, a gifted actor and the fact he looks young instead of an old sadist is a nice touch. Baritone Sherill Milnes is appropriately slimy in some scenes, though like the other critic wrote in his or her review, he does not portray the sadistic and sinister Baron Chief of Police with enough compelling prowess. The beautiful and elegant Hungarian soprano Raina Kabaivanska is vocally an outstanding Tosca and in Placido Domingo we have a very well-sung and well- characterized Mario Cavardossi. It is indeed a fine intro to opera, though this opera I wouldn't recommend as a first opera. The naturalistic, real flavor to this Tosca makes it very powerful drama and looks every bit like a mainstream film.

This film, released in 1975, was the first Tosca to be transferred from stage to film, and was shot on location in the actual sites in Rome, Italy specified in the opera by Puccini: Act 1 is set in the Church of the San Andrea De La Valle, Act 2 is the Palazzo Farnese and Act 3 is set atop the parapets of the Castel San Angelo.

Puccini tosca opera company of boston 1972