This is well worth watching for some fine performances. The whole thing is sumptuously shot, although Jacquot goes in for a few 'clever' moments with b&w cutaways to footage of the studio recording on which the film was based, plus one or two moments when the characters are 'thinking' their lines, with no obvious lip movements! I find Gheorghiu much more convincing here as Tosca than her recent appearances at Covent Garden. Alagna sings and acts well as Cavaradossi and it's good to see Raimondi's sinisterly portrayal of Scarpia.

It's tonight!

I only shouted at the director a few times! Some moments utterly ruined. 

Found our old video of that actual location, actual time performance broadcast on the tv about 12 or 13(?) years ago -  with Placido Domingo (tripping and falling down the steps - remember that heart-stopping moment?) in fine form, Catherine Malfitano as Tosca and again, Ruggero Raimondi a fine Scarpia (but less sinister in appearance when younger) with Zubin Mehta conducting. The picture quality's poor but the sound's not too bad, considering its age and format. Only managed to watch the 1st Act of this one so far this evening.

   

I'm not surprised, it's one of the oldest chestnuts in the book   With no action to illustrate it, any "thought" remains a matter of speculation at best.  It's like saying that a singer failed to sing an f#,  but "was thinking about one".

I too, saw the Zeferelli production a couple of times, once with Tucci/Mauro/Gobbi cond. Mackerras, then a year or two later with Jones/Domingo (house debut)/Paskalis. A fabulous production. Have I mentioned before that when in Cape Town I discovered that there was a production on there with a show on the one evening we had free, with Francesca Patané and a cast of mainly native singers, including a fabulous Scarpia? Patané has a deal of the Callas about her; at one point she was a model, and definitely understands the meaning of 'glamour'. Vocally the tone is strikingly similar, right down to the slightly plummy smokiness, though (as yet) not as squally. She was the female lead in the Afternoon on 3's broadcast of Alfano's Sakuntala during the summer, which I recorded without having seen the cast-list beforehand. I recognised the voice immediately, and a quick check on the website confirmed my suspicion. What she doesn't have yet is the conviction of Callas's acting. The fragment which survives of the Act 2 encounter with Scarpia is electrifying: two great singing actors living the moment, a far cry from the acting by numbers we often get in that scene. I don't think Patané can have seen the video: the one thing she really messed up was the knife moment, which in Callas and Zefferelli's hands works perfectly.