VIDEOCASSETTES : Excellent Good Fair Poor

"Tosca's Kiss." VAI. $49.95. Daniel Schmid's affectionate documentary explores Casa Verdi, a retirement home for opera singers founded by the composer in 1902. It also explores the egos and interrelationships of some inhabitants: tough, crusty, proud, decaying egomaniacs who juggle memories of a glorious past with the realities of a modest present and a limited future. Aging divas and supertenors play records, compare notes, attend to domestic chores and, yes, sing, sing, sing. The nostalgia--sometimes amusing, sometimes painful--is always poignant. Inventive photography, decent subtitles.