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How boring, you might think: yet another DVD version of Puccini's Tosca. But think again, for this live recording of the opera from the New York Met in 1985 is a treat both musically and dramatically.
The singers, conductor, director and orchestra all came together at what was clearly the right moment for this visceral interpretation of Puccini's melodrama, keeping me, at least, glued to my seat for two hours of operatic bliss.
Franco Zeffirelli's production returns to the original settings of Sardou's story, and in a short but informative archival documentary, the director takes us on a journey to Rome and explains how Puccini took details from real life to use in his score. For instance, the shepherd boy's song at the opening of Act III might well have been heard wafting up to the battlements of the Castel Sant'Angelo when Cavaradossi prepares for execution (though we also learn that he would probably have been executed down on the ground rather than up above).
Every detail of the three acts is lovingly created, from the individually-designed books on Scarpia's bookcases (the perfect setting for a gentleman's study) to the font of holy water in the church in Act I. Having just seen the production in revival at the Met, it was also interesting to note a few changes that have taken place over the years: back then, Cavaradossi wrote his letter to Tosca in a cell, and the whole stage moved downwards to reveal the battlements. Nowadays, the entire act takes place in the open air with the view of Rome in the background.
Zeffirelli's designs are exquisite and his direction embraces the melodrama for what it is, whilst Peter J. Hall's costumes are sumptuous, particularly Tosca's gown in Act II.
But all opera performances absolutely need a counterpoint in the pit to ensure that the musical aspect is co-ordinated in spirit and attack, and the reason why this Tosca works so well is conductor Giuseppe Sinopoli (in his only Met appearance). Often temperamental and frequently eccentric in his choices of tempi, the late maestro whips the opera along at a tremendous, extravert pace. Has the timpani roll at Scarpia's first appearance in Act I ever been played with such force before? Sinopoli is also an excellent accompanist, for the most part attuning the orchestra to the fluid tempi that a good Puccini performance demands.
The two male leads are both extraordinary. As Mario Cavaradossi, Placido Domingo was captured here in his heyday. As you would expect, he is sensitive to the other singers onstage, particularly his lover Tosca, and his characterisation is vivid. But the excitement comes from his singing, which was at its most thrilling back in the 1980s. Ardent in the love duet and Recondita armonia in Act I and passionately desperate in Act III, Domingo's singing is worth hearing as a reminder of why he is the greatest tenor of the last quarter-century (if not beyond).
Cornell MacNeil's Scarpia is equally impressive. This is a dangerous man, but Zeffirelli's direction brings out the attraction in that danger, and MacNeil makes the character incredibly sensuous. His voice may not be as beautiful as Piero Cappuccilli's or even Tito Gobbi's, but MacNeil makes this a very personal interpretation and it works.
Yet it's the soprano's opera, and after some faltering in the early scenes, Hildegard Behrens exceeded my expectations in the title role. It is an excellent reminder of how much Puccini learnt from studying Wagner, not just the Italian tradition: listen to how Behrens dazzles at the height of the confrontation in the second act, riding the orchestra with ease. Also electric is her well-projected spoken declamation at the end of the act, after she has killed Scarpia; where other sopranos turn kittenish at this point, Behrens brings out the horror of her deed.
Orchestra, chorus and the smaller characters are all pretty good, too, making this DVD well worth a purchase.
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