Daniel Harding Conducts the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Puccini’s Tosca

Eleonora Buratto, Jonathan Tetelman and Ludovic Tézier shine
in Daniel Harding’s first Tosca with the prestigious Italian orchestra

This recording is the first fruit of an exciting new partnership between
DG and the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia

Deutsche Grammophon announces the release of the Orchestra e Coro dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia’s 2024–25 season-opening concert performance of Tosca as an audio album, conducted by Daniel Harding in his role as the new Santa Cecilia Music Director. The recording honours two historic landmarks: the 125th anniversary of the opera’s premiere at Rome’s Teatro Costanzi and the centenary of Puccini’s death.  The outstanding cast includes Italian soprano Eleonora Buratto as Tosca, Chilean-American tenor and DG artist Jonathan Tetelman as Cavaradossi and French baritone Ludovic Tézier as Scarpia. Available from today, 28 March 2025, digitally and on 2 CDs, the album launches an exciting new partnership between Deutsche Grammophon and the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. A filmed version of the concert is available on STAGE+.

The October 2024 concert staging of Tosca was the first live performance ever given of the opera by the Santa Cecilia orchestra and chorus. The performance represented a significant milestone for Daniel Harding, who made both his debut as Music Director and his first appearance conducting Tosca. Harding describes Tosca as “the Roman opera par excellence,” making it a fitting tribute to Puccini on his centenary.

And the firsts continue – this was Eleonora Buratto’s second Tosca, but her first appearance in Italy – her interpretation led to her being hailed as “the Tosca of our dreams” (Giornale della musica). It was Jonathan Tetelman’s debut with the orchestra and his first time working with Harding, in what has become a signature role. They were joined by the pre-eminent Scarpia of our time, Ludovic Tézier.

On stage in Rome, these experienced performers more than met the challenges of conjuring the drama of an opera without sets, costumes and lighting. A concert performance can highlight the slightest vocal and orchestral nuance, and here every detail of Puccini’s writing can be heard.

The current season holds more Puccini for Jonathan Tetelman: he reprises the role of Pinkerton, opposite Eleonora Buratto, in a new production of Madama Butterfly at the Baden-Baden Easter Festival with the Berliner Philharmoniker and Kirill Petrenko (12–20 April). The same team gives two concert performances of Madama Butterfly at the Berlin Philharmonie (25 & 27 April), while Puccini will also feature in Tetelman’s concerts in Munich, Prague, Frankfurt and Hamburg (5, 9, 15 June & 3 July respectively).