Puccini: Tosca (complete opera)

This is Tosca lite. The role of the tenor lead, Mario Cavaradossi, is quite heavy and strenuous in Puccini’s score; in their primes, for instance, it suited the robust, darker tone of Placido Domingo over the slender, lighter sound of Luciano Pavarotti. Andrea Bocelli's voice is slenderer still--as the world knows, it's a beautiful pop singer's sound with an opera singer's top notes and feel. As a result, the orchestra in this brand new recording is kept pretty far in the background, and all of the soloists' voices are closely miked, with Bocelli's particularly forward. His fans will not mind the acoustic, and they probably also will bask in his still-lovely, ingratiating sound, despite some obvious strain (and, at times, off-pitch singing). His rendition of the famous last act aria, "E lucevan le stele," is ravishing--long-breathed, delicate, and sensitive without resorting to melodrama. As for the rest of the cast, Fiorenza Cedolins is an involved, if generic, Tosca who will not erase memories of Maria Callas, and baritone Carlo Guelfi sings the evil Baron Scarpia with an appropriate snarl. Zubin Mehta leads the orchestra in a reading which complements his tenor's style--there's more personal sadness than grand overstatement. This is for Bocelli fans--millions of them. --Robert Levine