Puccini: Tosca with Maria Callas ([2-CD Box set)

Product Details
Performer: Maria Callas, Giuseppe Di Stefano, Tito Gobbi
Orchestra: La Scala Orchestra
Conductor: Victor De Sabata
Composer: Giacomo Puccini
Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
Number of Discs: 2
Format: 2-CD Box Set
Label: EMI Classics
UPC: 077774717427
Condition: Very good.

Little can be added to what's been written about this landmark recording, except that Walter Legge's 1953 mono production yields nothing to modern recordings of Tosca in vivacity and theatrical impact--especially that of Maria Callas. All the more so with this marvelously remastered edition. The miraculous Victor de Sabata conjures a vibrant, inspiring orchestral canvas that enables Callas and her stellar cohorts to work their magic. Tito Gobbi and Callas spur each other to such heights that the characters replace the singers in the listener's mind. Giuseppe Di Stefano is on his best behavior and in fresher voice than on his fine Leontyne Price-Herbert von Karajan remake. On this set, EMI includes texts, translations, and notes that discuss this recording in the context of Callas's mercurial career.