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GIACOMO PUCCINI (1858-1924)

TOSCA: In the settings and at the times of Tosca
Starring: Catherine Malfitano, Placido Domingo, Ruggero Raimondi
Symphony Orchestra and Chorus of Rome RAI
Conductor: Zubin Methta
Performers and producers were brought together, with contemporary Rome as the setting for this ‘live film’, to create this unique and highly innovative version of Puccini’s Tosca. Abandoning its theatrical roots, the opera was broadcast live by satellite around the world. And dispensing with theatrical sets, it was performed in the very Roman locations – and at the very same times of day – as Puccini had written into his score: in the 16th-century church of Sant’Andrea della Valle, the nearby Palazzo Farnese (a magnificent 16th-century edifice that is now the French Embassy) and finally at Castel Sant’Angelo.

But unlike the original, the back-drops were the real thing, not sets. And the timings of the three acts were staggered to translate Puccini’s score into the real time – the first at noon, the second at 8.15pm the same day and the third at 6am the following day. The story and characters of Tosca are largely fictional, but the trappings of satellite technology endowed this production with the same sense of partial reality as a TV news clip. The sharp focus of modern technology actually blurred the line between artistic creation and reality: even though the weather outside the church of Sant’Andrea della Valle was overcast that day, it was sunny inside.

Conceived and Produced by Andrea Andermann
Directed by Guiseppe Patroni Griffi

MANON LESCAUT
Starring: Placido Domingo, Kiri Te Kanawa, Thomas Allen
The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Conductor: Giuseppe Sinopoli
This famous production from The Royal Opera, features Kiri Te Kanawa and Placido Domingo whose performance of Des Grieux is considered to be unsurpassed. Puccini’s first masterpiece has his hallmark sensuality, and a youthful freshness, its untamed outpouring of melody just as passionate as his more famous operas. The role of Des Grieux is one of the most taxing in the tenor repertoire, and Domingo’s passionate portrayal is one of his greatest achievements.

Produced by Götz Friedrich
Directed for video by Humphrey Burton

LA FANCIULLA DEL WEST
Starring: Carol Neblett, Placido Domingo
The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Conductor: Nello Santi
Puccini’s penultimate opera, which marked a new stylish departure for him, is set at the height of the California gold rush. In this Royal Opera recording, Carol Neblett sings the role of Minnie, ‘The Girl of the Golden West’, and Placido Domingo is as ignitable as ever in the role of Dick Johnson, alias the bandit, Ramirez.

Produced by Piero Faggioni
Directed for video by John Vernon

TOSCA
“Andrea Andermann’s television production was simply a triumph” - THE TIMES

“The staggered timing, the complex technology and the settings themselves made the production the first of its kind” - THE NEW YORK TIMES

LA FANCIULLA DEL WEST
“It should be heard and seen by all who can buy or beg a ticket.” - DAILY TELEGRAPH