Tosca: "tre sbirri... una carrozza..." Cornell MacNeil

[llamasaresmelly]

RIP Cornell MacNeil. You will be missed.

[rodoShaolin2]

Va, Tosca!

Nel tuo cuor s'annida Scarpia!...

Tosca, mi fai dimenticare Iddio! !!

JUST AMAZING!! MacNeil is an INCREDIBLE Scarpia!

This scene is terrific! Tosca, you make me forgot God!! while Te Deum is being celebrated!

THAKS SO MUCH for this video!

[1947Rollo]

Sebbene avanti con gli anni,la voce usurata e non più controllata,resta sempre uno tra gli Scarpia più autorevoli.

[bodiloto]

Scarpia= Stoyan Popov Tosca=Ghena Dimitrova

Scarpia=Georges London Tosca=Renata Tebaldi

[BorisGodunov]

I owned this on VHS some years ago and always thought MacNeil was a brilliant actor with a so-so voice. But then I discovered his recordings from the 60s and 70s--wow! Relative to then, his voice is in tatters in this performance. And yet... he's still better than most baritones in the role!

[MrMrmike5]

too fast

[bigdbc]

@MrMrmike5 Pace is a little fast but it works here. I like how all the aspects of the scene just flow together beautifully.

[palosfalsos]

Tosca mi fai dimenticare Iddio!!!

[EscapeToNowhere11]

THE BEST Scarpia I've ever heard and seen!

[pyaghmourian]

MacNeil's "Te Deum" is the most glorious aria in all opera.

He is the best baritone of the 20th century. I saw him in this

performance at the Met and it was nothing but thrilling.

I never wanted it to end. Brilliant! Magnificent! MoltoBravo!

[MrMrmike5]

@pyaghmourian hes right next to tito gobbi and ruggero raimondi

[MrCabarq]

una versión superlativa....con Zefirelli en unas de las mejores puestas que realizó. No me canso de verla y especialmente ..Va ..Tosca...Es magnifico. Si pueden ver la versión de la opera completa ...se las recomiendo.

[bigdbc]

3:24 to the end is just yummy. I love it. I could watch this a million times.

[mantiXcore]

eh, his voice is kind of bland in this, in my opinion.

[bigdbc]

My favorite performance of Tosca. 1985! I'd agree MacNeil was better earlier in his career but again like someone said at 63 not bad. Also, as someone else said the acting was superb. The great acting permeated this entire 1985 performance not only by MacNeil but Behrens & Domingo as well. As far as the staging at the end of act 1, I wouldn't have it any other way. The realism is the goal here folks & it is beautifully portrayed in this scene. The goosebumps must envelop anyone watching this.

[malamutet]

Uno dei migliori Scarpia, sia vocalmente che come presenza scenica.

[AnryK2690]

I am sorry dear McNeil and Sinopoli fans, but this is nothing special. This piece needs power, and there is no power here, not the singing nor the orchestration. Try Karajan.

[bigdbc]

@AnryK2690 I whole-heartedly disagree. The ending is unadulterated power. Stagings and dramatic orchestration this good are few and far between. Has SIr MacNeil had better moments vocally unquestionably but at 63 this is still very good. I have been watching live performances of Tosca for the last 25 years with this one being the first I ever saw. Nothing since has come close and every clip from this scene I've witnessed from before this performance fall short & believe me I've seen all of them.

[bigdbc]

@AnryK2690 Just to add, I've listened to Karajan's orchestration of this scene. It is outstanding but it isn't all that much better if better at all than what was done here.

[SingcerelyStudios]

One of the GREAT Italianate Verdi Sonds... NOTHING like it today or since Capuccili....

[MrCafiero]

OOO, he was great, but the open F? That is what ruined his voice by then end...he started uncovering and losing falsetto coordination.

[lucyllebalth80]

Oooohhhh I LOVE THIS MAN!!! It's my favourite Scarpia!!!!

[jeanmolin55]

Cornell MacNeil

Grande! Splendido!

[mrantiquedealer]

I loved MacNeil but toward the end his voice lost a lot of the round Italian sound. It was certainly a REAl voice with a great sound in the house....

[JeeRant]

3:55

[minnie888444]

Thank you for posting this beautiful excerpt showing the art of the great Cornell MacNeil.

[elephantbarbiegirl]

I love this aria but here the orchestration sounds very 'thin' and too fast. It needs to be much more menacing! It's the perfect aria for melodrama and boy didn't they go for it!

[AnryK2690]

@elephantbarbiegirl Then try it with Karajan. I agree with you.

[gaytenor]

operafan85: MacNeil was famous because he was a geat Verdi baritone with the best top in the business, he had a huge sound and he could act very well. Try the Il Tabarro aria to understnad why he was so well known.

[leadoffeohippus]

God, the music at the beginning is some of the best music ever composed.

[gaytenor]

While MacNeil was past his best days the soundis very impressive considering the sets designed by the QUEEN OF OPERA which were roundly condemned at the time.

[DirectrixM]

You mean Zefirelli? Awesome!

[BorisGodunov]

I have to say that compared to his earlier work, MacNeil is terrible shape vocally in this performance. His voice is so thin and pinched compared to even the 1978 recording. At least his acting was superb to carry him through.

[caneMATT]

I really enjoy the singing here, Maybe a bit fast for my taste. And the staging is just way over the top. Do they really need that many people?! What am i saying, It is the met.

[Jaydoggy531]

The set looks pretty accurate as is the number of people to a church procession of the time period. What's wrong with a set that is accurate to the libretto? I see nothing detrimental to the work in this stage.

[arrecotinarrecotan]

@Jaydoggy531 yes, and?

[Jaydoggy531]

@arrecotinarrecotan

My post was in response to someone that the staging and direction weren't good. I was pointing out that there were no problems with it.

[llamasaresmelly]

@Jaydoggy531 It's not the accuracy that is problematic. Tosca is a rather intimate opera, an opera with only three central characters. Zeffirelli tends to ignore this, especially in the second act. It's true that it is simply stunning to look at, but in the opera house, it is really difficult to appreciate the drama of the piece rather than the grandiose style in which it is done.

[Jaydoggy531]

@llamasaresmelly

Intimate as it may be absolutely, it is also verismo, I.E. meant to have a realistic setting. This is very realistic and accurate to a church procession. As for adding extras in the second act: most likely someone of Scarpia's caliber would have that many assistants, servants, and guards.

[jesusjuanpablo]

It's like seeing again Tito Gobbi but in McNeil

[mendoncalanda]

Perfect!

[kurt2rsenjazz]

Pucinni stole this from me!

PUCINNI! CURSE YOU!

[felixpetrar]

Mr MacNeil has such a nice scenic play and I love his voice between 1:06 and 2:20. Especially 1:27, 1:39 and 2:20 gives me goose bumps.

[SirJohnSteed1st]

MAGNIFICENT.

[stevevandien]

At 63, MacNeil is still pretty doggone good here --

[operafan85]

He was quite famous, but I don't know exactly why...

[puppetoz]

Well it might be an idea to go and find out why rather than to reveal yourself as totally stupid on here.

[hillevifan]

could you post Behrens Vissi d'arte please..I love her