- Actors: Hildegard Behrens, Plácido Domingo, Cornell MacNeil, James Courtney, Italo Tajo
- Directors: Kirk Browning
- Writers: Giuseppe Giacosa, Luigi Illica, Victorien Sardou
- Producers: Michael Bronson, Samuel Paul
- Format: Classical, Closed-captioned, Colour, DVD-Video, PAL
- Language Italian
- Subtitles: English
- Region: All Regions
- Aspect Ratio: 4:3 - 1.33:1
- Number of discs: 1
- Classification: Unrated (US MPAA rating. See details.)
- Studio: Geneon [Pioneer]
- DVD Release Date: 23 Feb 1999
- Run Time: 127 minutes
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
- ASIN: 6305079188
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 221,927 in Film & TV (See Top 100 in Film & TV)
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I owned this production on VHS and am glad that DG have re-released this with DTS sound. I have always enjoyed watching this DVD, even though it does have a few shortcomings. The most obvious one is the casting of Cornell McNeil as Scarpia, as vocally he falls short, but he makes up for it with his intense acting. Behrens too falls short, but I enjoyed her vocalism and characterisation. There will be too many comparisons to past interpretators of the role, and her voice may not be Italianate enough, but in my books, it works and she is wonderful as the heroine! Domingo is the star of this show! Zefferelli's set is masterfully done and the production is sumptous for the MET stage.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Visually, this is a real feast! However, there is much to be desired musically. Behrens is slightly coy, and her voice is not rich enough for the part: she is so much better suited to Strauss and Wagner. MacNeil is great - really menacing - but at 63 years of age, his sense of pitch fails unless he is following an orchestral line. Domingo's strengths as Cavaradossi are well known, and he does not let us down here. The conducting is exemplary, the orchestra magnificent. I very much enjoyed watching the video - I had had it for years, and never given it a viewing. But in the final analysis, I feel a younger, surer Scarpia and a more Italianate Floria are needed.
36 of 41 people found the following review helpful
Format:VHS Tape
THE MET HAS DONE IT AGAIN,,,THIS PRODUCTION HAS BEEN RUNNING FOR YEARS..AND ITS NOT HARD TO SEE WHY. THE STAGE IS HUGE AND THIS VERSION TAKES FULL ADVANTAGE OF THAT.FROM THE FIRST ACT..WE ARE IN ROME..NO DOUBT HERE..THIS CHURCH..IS GRAND..VAST..A PERFECT BACKDROP BEFORE WHICH THE ACTION IS PLAYED..DOMINGO IS ON FINE FORM..BEHRENS IS A GREAT TOSCA..AND SCARPIA..WELL..I WOULDNT LIKE TO CROSS HIM AT ANY POINT.THE ACT ONE FINALE IS SUPERB. ACT TWO HAS ALL THE PASSION,ANGER,DRAMA THAT MAKES THIS "SHABBY LITTLE SHOCKER"A FIRM FAVOURITE. ACT THREE..DUE TO THE HUGE STAGE AT THE MET,TAKES PLACE BOTH ON AND IN THE CASTEL SANT ANGELO..THE DUNGEON..GRACEFULLY..SLIPPING INTO THE FLOOR TO REVEAL THE BREAKING DAWN...THIS IS A VIDEO TO HAVE BECAUSE IT HAS IN IT ALL THE DETAILS THAT YOU'D WANT AND WHICH MOST OTHER PRODUCTIONS FAIL AT ,ZEFFERELLI HAS DONE IT AGAIN. THE CONDUCTING IS AS GOOD AS YOULL GET..MY ONLY GRIPE WOULD BE THE ACTUAL FILM ITSELF..SOME SCENES LOOSE THEIR EFFECT..BECAUSE OF THE VIDEO DIRECTION BUT THAT IS A SMALL PRICE TO PAY FOR THIS BENCHMARK PRODUCTION WHICH I RECOMMEND HIGHLY.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
amazing
The best production i have ever seen of Tosca. Cant go wrong, Zefferelli, Domingo, Behrens. Domingo at his physical and vocal best. Read more
Published 19 months ago by joy
Puccini Tosca DVD 1985
The staging, singing and acting in this opera are excellent. However the camera work is appalling. One has to get used to the jerky images in order to appreciate the opera. Read more
Published on 11 April 2010 by Mrs. P. J. Dando
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