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Tosca in loco

Roma
Teatro Costanzi
01/14/2025 -  & January 16, 17, 18*, 19, March 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 2025
Giacomo Puccini: Tosca
Saioa Hernández*/Anastasia Bartoli/Anna Netrebko/Yolanda Auyanet (Tosca), Gregory Kunde*/Vicenzo Costanzo/Yusif Eyvazov/Luciano Ganci (Cavaradossi), Gevorg Hakobyan*/Daniel Luis de Vicente/Amartuvshin Enkhbat/Gabriele Viviani (Baron Scarpia), Luciano Leoni*/Gabriele Sagona (Angelotti), Domenico Colaianni (Sacristan), Saverio Fiore (Spoletta), Leo Paul Chiarot/Marco Severin* (Sciarrone), Irene Codau*/Emma McAleese (Shepherd boy), Antonio Taschini/Andrea Jin Chin* (Jailer)
Orchestra e Coro del Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Ciro Visco (chorus master), Michele Mariotti/Francesco Ivan Ciampa*/Daniel Oren (conductor)
Alessandro Talevi (stage director), Adolf Hohenstein & Carlo Savi (sets), Adolf Hohenstein & Anna Biagiotti (costumes), Vinicio Cheli (lighting)


S. Hernandez, G. Kunde (© Fabrizio Sansoni/Opera di Roma)


Puccini was a man of the theatre with an uncanny ability to recognize a plot that would work as an opera. After seeing Victorien Sardou’s play, La Tosca (1887), Puccini decided it would make a great opera, despite his publisher’s reluctance. Dismissed as “a shabby little shocker” by musicologist Joseph Kerman (1924‑2014), Tosca is, together with Il tabarro (1918), Puccini’s most typically verismo work. Both were set after two grand‑guignol plays by French authors. Unlike his Italian contemporaries writing in the verismo style, such as Mascagni, Leoncavallo and Giordano, Puccini was able to transform La Tosca from a minor sensationalist entertainment to the affecting work of art we know today, imbued with his intoxicating lyricism and fully developed characters.


Rome’s Teatro dell’Opera production celebrates the opera’s 125th anniversary, and for the occasion, the production’s sets and costumes as based on the posters and sketches of German painter Adolf Hohenstein (1854‑1928). He created the posters for Tosca, Manon Lescaut, La bohème, Verdi’s Falstaff, Mascagni’s Iris and Catalani’s La Wally and other operas published by Ricordi. The art nouveau painter also drew costumes and sets for the productions. Though few know his name, many are familiar with his luxuriously evocative opera posters.


This opera premiered in Rome at the very same theatre and of course it’s also set in the Eternal City. The sets were appealingly realistic, but the costumes were another matter. Some were fetching, others much less so. Tosca’s dresses in all three acts, but especially in Act II, were quite hideous. They may have been faithful to Hohenstein’s famous posters, but what works in a poster doesn’t necessarily translate to the stage. The Act II off‑white dress looked like a nightgown, though it was one Tosca wore to sing at Palazzo Farnese, and in doing so, reduced the intensity of this dramatic act. One would not think a dress could be so pivotal, but it was. Moreover, it was not true to the period, style empire, with a fitted bodice ending just below the bust. In this one instance, liberties should have been taken in its reconstruction.


Tosca features three major characters: the opera diva Floria Tosca; the painter Mario Cavaradossi; and Rome’s Chief of Police Baron Scarpia, in addition to several other minor characters. Two of the three characters in this performance were absolutely stunning.


American tenor Gregory Kunde is the only tenor today whose repertoire includes the Otellos of both Verdi and Rossini. I remember hearing him in Montreal, as a delightfully virtuosic Arturo in Bellini’s I puritani. Rarely has a tenor had such a trajectory from light lyric bel canto tenore d’agilità to dramatic tenor. He has managed this long journey with care and intelligence. His voice showed no strain as Cavaradossi or even Otello, possibly Verdi’s most challenging tenor role. Moreover, his bel canto training enabled elegant phrasing and nuanced expression.


Already seventy, Kunde puts to shame many of today’s younger leading tenors. Admired a year ago as Calaf in Turandot in Paris and two years ago as Alvaro in La forza del destino in Parma, the American tenor seems unstoppable. His Act I “Recondita armonia” was not his best moment as his voice had not yet warmed up. In contrast, his Act III “E lucevan le stelle” was a masterclass in singing, tender and moving as well as elegantly phrased. He had great chemistry with Saioa Hernández, essential to render the opera credible.


Madrid-born Hernández is an outstanding lirico spinto, and Tosca is a perfect vocal fit. I first heard her two years ago in Bretón’s La Dolores in Madrid after hearing positive comments from impressed friends. I too was completely captivated and have made a point of seeing her whenever possible. She was dazzling as Abigaille in Nabucco in Geneva last season and spectacular as Turandot in Venice earlier this year. Amazingly, she also managed to triumph in the lyric soprano role of Cio‑Cio San in Madama Butterfly in Barcelona just a month ago. Hernández must be one of the very few sopranos who can sing with brio both Turandot and Cio‑Cio San.


In addition to her impressive instrument, she is an intelligent musician. Her diction is impeccable, as are her acting skills. Whether expressing jealousy in Act I, despair leading to ferociousness in Act II, or hope imbued with anxiety in Act III, Hernández was bang on. Her Tosca was a proud Roman grande dame from beginning to end. Needless to say, her interpretation of “Vissi d’arte” was the highlight of the evening. This sensational Spanish soprano never ceases to astonish.


Gevorg Hakobyan was lauded in the secondary role of Paolo Albani in Simon Boccanegra last month in Rome, but here, Baron Scarpia was too much of a leap for him. The Armenian baritone has a powerful voice but has a tendency to sing forte all the time, which did not make for a nuanced performance. Though his Italian was understandable, his diction was not up to par with the rest of the cast.


The role of Scarpia is one of the most evil Italian opera roles, alongside Iago in Verdi’s Otello. To be effective, he must exude authority, arrogance and malice. Yet he should be nuanced, and unfortunately, Hakobyan acted like a despicable monster from beginning to end. A two‑dimensional portrayal renders the man a mere caricature. Scarpia’s Act I “Te Deum” is as much a self‑declaration of perniciousness as Iago’s “Credo.” The fact that it is sung over a Latin Christian hymn is reflective of Puccini’s disdain for the Church, as was common among the artists of the Risorgimento and the early decades of a united Italy. This was possibly Hakobyan’s best moment in the opera.


The recreated sets and costumes were a good idea for a celebratory staging of Puccini’s Tosca. However, one would have hoped for some originality in the staging. The sets were majestic, and true to the actual setting. The indoors sets for the church of Sant’Andrea della Valle in Act I and for Scarpia’s apartment in the Palazzo Farnese in Act II were credible reproductions and not over‑the‑top as seen in other stagings. Most appealing were the sets for Act III: the roof of Castel Sant’Angelo was simple and uncluttered. Their simplicity helped accentuate the sadness at the opening of the act.


The smaller parts were well-performed. Character roles may not be demanding vocally, but nonetheless require talented singing actors who cherish their importance. Luciano Leoni, as Angelotti, had a booming voice and great stage presence. The henchmen, Sciarrone and Spoletta, were effective in their roles, though Saverio Fiore was a somewhat vocally underwhelming Sploletta. Domenico Colaianni’s Sacristan was especially effective, funny without being excessive, as is too often the case.


Much of the success of the performance was thanks to the masterful conducting of Francesco Ivan Ciampa. Puccini’s elaborate orchestration can be easily botched, especially if the conductor favours the voices. Given this elaborate orchestration, it’s easy for the conductor to get carried away and for the ensemble to drown out the voices. Ciampa had a felicitous, balanced approach.


This was an overall enjoyable performance. The idea of recreating the premiere may be original, but its staging was somewhat prosaic. Thanks to Gregory Kunde and Saioa Hernández, it was riveting and memorable.



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