United Kingdom Puccini, Tosca: Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of Opera North / Gary Walker (conductor). The Lowry Theatre, Salford Quays. 9.3.2023. (MC)
Production:
Stage director – Edward Dick
Set designer – Tom Scutt
Costume design – Fotini Dimou
Lighting design – Lee Curran
Choreographer – Maxine Braham
Cast:
Tosca – Giselle Allen
Cavaradossi – Mykhailo Malafii
Scarpia – Robert Hayward
Angelotti – Callum Thorpe
Sacristan – Matthew Stiff
Spoletta – Alex Banfield
Sciarrone – Richard Mosley-Evans
Jailer – Ross McInroy
In his ebook Opera as Drama (pub.1956) late American musicologist Joseph Kerman described Tosca disparagingly as ‘that shabby little shocker’. Its enduring reputation with audiences would strongly disagree with Kerman. I by no means tire of Tosca and it’s definitely the opera that I’ve seen and loved essentially the most.
Puccini’s librettists Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa primarily based Tosca on Victorien Sardou’s French-language dramatic play La Tosca (1887) set in Rome in 1800 on the time of Napoleon Bonaparte’s victory within the Battle of Marengo. Set towards a disturbing local weather of political intrigue and menace there may be the turbulent love affair between painter and republican supporter Cavaradossi and Tosca who’s Rome’s most famous opera singer. Police chief Scarpia makes an attempt to rape Tosca who stabs him fatally. Cavaradossi has been tortured and faces a firing squad whom Tosca has paid to intentionally miss. Tosca has been double-crossed and Cavaradossi is shot lifeless. Unable to face the torment Tosca throws herself off the constructing to her loss of life.
This manufacturing of Tosca by stage director Edward Dick brings the motion ahead to the current day and was first given at Opera North in 2018 the place it was a lot admired. In the absence of any rationalization from Dick those that know Tosca would possibly assume that Rome was nonetheless the placement. Original settings are usually my desire though modern takes on occasions usually enable me to grasp and respect the libretto by a distinct lens. I haven’t seen Dick’s unique 2018 staging though I imagine this revival is actually related, albeit with some tweaks right here and there. Audience members couldn’t fail to spot the inclusion of recent objects comparable to cellphones, laptops and webcams. Overall, Dick is profitable together with his insights into the emotional traits of the three essential characters.
Tom Scutt’s units are spectacular, particularly in Act I is the substantial, gilded cupola of the church Sant’Andrea della Valle, designed with various painted panels. One panel has been taken out for renovation on which Cavaradossi is portray Mary Magdalene with blue eyes and blonde hair. The sides of the shadowy church are rigged with quite a few vertical rows of theatre lights and likewise banks of votive candle racks all lit. The procession scene within the church with the Te Deum on the finish of the act could be a spine-tingling visible and aural show, nearly religious, but right here the group of kids operating about being chased by nuns was a messy romp that didn’t swimsuit the opera in any respect.
I’ve change into used to second act of Tosca being set in Scarpia’s workplace however right here Scutt’s imaginative and prescient is a big room dominated by a contemporary design, low four-poster mattress in a particular cube-like form, now all the trend. This function works properly when Scarpia is making an attempt to coerce and seduce Tosca earlier than overpowering her. In retaliation she stabs him fatally with a knife leaving a bloody scene. Successful too was the dramatic remaining act the place Cavaradossi is shot by firing squad main Tosca to leap to her loss of life by the centre of the cupola, now positioned at an angle.
Costume designs by Fotini Dimou are modern, most noticeably the black tactical navy clothes comparable to balaclava ski masks worn by Scarpia’s gun toting henchmen. As seen within the manufacturing images Tosca wears lovely designer robes and coats, sadly a lot of the element was obscured by the shadowy lighting and I don’t suppose I’ve ever seen as a lot dry ice emitted from a stage.
Most memorable of the Tosca performances that I’ve attended had been productions by the Staatsoper Berlin (2016) and Staatsoper Dresden (2019). Both featured the good Romanian soprano Angela Gheorghiu because the eponymous heroine in one among her signature roles. Gheorghiu sang her Tosca with a pure assurance and supreme type, creating irrefutable dramatic influence. By comparability, with this Opera North manufacturing Giselle Allen’s Tosca was a self-assertive heroine who additionally created splendid drama and so properly acted too. My spotlight was Tosca’s magnificent aria Vissi d’arte from Act II sung by the Irish soprano producing such compelling expression.
As Cavaradossi, Ukrainian tenor Mykhailo Malafii was fairly efficient within the function, but he appeared nervous which affected the smoothness of his supply. Cavaradossi’s large aria Recondita armonia might be one of the vital celebrated moments in opera. Occurring early within the first act the aria is extraordinarily troublesome to drag off because the tenor’s voice has not had time to heat up, nonetheless, regardless of the pressure on his excessive register Malafii did talk his emotions adequately. On this proof not a pure actor, Malafii appeared uncomfortable when alone on stage, a state of affairs that improved throughout his love duet with Tosca.
Scarpia is an evil and conspiratorial chief of police who tortures his victims. I’ve seen various menacing Scarpia’s comparable to Ruggero Raimondi, Bryn Terfel, John Lundgren, Juha Uusitalo, and Ludovic Tézier who I imagine is presently the best exponent of the function. Opera North stalwart Robert Hayward may not be on the identical elevated stage as these Scarpia’s talked about above. Nevertheless, Hayward’s appearing was persuasive and his bass-baritone most compelling too, expert at portraying the character’s ethical depravity.
Antony Hermus who carried out Edward Dick’s Tosca for Opera North in 2018 said ‘There is not a single unimportant note in any of Puccini’s operas’ and I’ve to comply with the masterly orchestration. At the Lowry Theatre, conductor Gary Walker, his gamers and refrain clearly relished each notice of Puccini’s rating and had been spectacular in a vibrant and well-paced efficiency. This revival of Edward Dick’s manufacturing is probably not my most memorable Tosca, however it definitely has the ability to captivate an viewers.
Michael Cookson