Leontyne Price, New Philharmonia Orchestra, Zubin Metha - Puccini: Tosca (1973/2016) [HDTracks]

This set–one of at least a dozen full-length Toscas available, is a big, brash, unsubtle affair–not that there’s anything wrong with that. Long referred to as a “shabby little shocker,” Tosca is a brute of a work, with three huge central figures–the opera singer, Tosca, full of jealousy and passion; Cavaroadossi, the idealistic painter who loves her; and Scarpia, the creepy, amoral police chief who wants to get into Tosca’s–er–good graces. In the title role, Price is imperious and elegant, and if she’s not as nuanced as Callas, well, no one is. Domingo’s Cavaradossi ideally suits his voice, and he may not be very interesting, but he sounds great. Milnes is all snarling and lip curling as Scarpia–just right for my money–you really hate him by the time Tosca does him in. Mehta leads an exciting show, and while the orchestra occasionally threatens to drown out the singers, it never quite does. Go for it. –Robert Levine