Tosca at The Lyric Opera, Chicago
Oct. 23rd, 2009 12:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
aviv_b_artworkThis is at least the third time I've seen Puccini's Tosca in the last 20 years and it remains one of my favorite operas.
Tosca is not your typical opera heroine. No boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back, girl dies of consumption here. Its more a jealous girl (Tosca) tries to save lover (Cavaradossi) from the chief of police (Scarpia) by promising sexual favors in exchange for her lover's life. Instead she kills Scarpia, witnesses her lover's execution and commits suicide as the police close in on her capture.
Tosca is a strong and determined character who is at turns, jealous, loyal, cunning, and naive. Sung by Deborah Voigt (of Wagner fame) the emotions of Tosca as she transforms from naive, pious, lover to avenging angel were well acted. Her vocals were adequate but a bit too powerful and not as nimble as the part demands.
Likewise, Vladimir Galouzine in the role of Cavaradossi moved well in the role, but I found his voice a bit stiff. He did hit the notes accurately and made the vocal leaps well, but his voice, like Voigt's seemed a little too heavy for the part.
The standout performance was James Morris in the role of Scarpia. He sang beautifully and managed to avoid the caricature of mustache, twirling bad guy that Scarpia sometimes devolves into. His Scarpia was by turns, suave, falsely empathetic and truly sinister.
The orchestra under the direction of Sir Andrew Davis performed brilliantly.
My only criticism of this performance is the use of the tired, old (45+ years old I think)) Franco Zefferelli sets.
Dark and gloomy beyond belief, its time these old warhorses were retired.
( But please lets avoid the debacle the The Met had with their opening of Tosca. http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/sep/22/tosca-metropolitan-opera-review. Even more spartan sets? Please no. And frankly, I'll take my Tosca without the fellatio, thank you very much. As the Guardian points out, Scarpia is the embodiment of repressed sexuality, not the expression of sexuality gone wild).
With the beautiful score and very good acting, the somewhat heavy-handed vocal performances by Voigt and Galouzine only marginally reduced my enjoyment of the opera. Next time, let's try voices known for Italian opera and new, brighter sets.
Posted with comments at the Opera Community: http://community.livejournal.com/opera/325364.html
Tosca is not your typical opera heroine. No boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back, girl dies of consumption here. Its more a jealous girl (Tosca) tries to save lover (Cavaradossi) from the chief of police (Scarpia) by promising sexual favors in exchange for her lover's life. Instead she kills Scarpia, witnesses her lover's execution and commits suicide as the police close in on her capture.
Tosca is a strong and determined character who is at turns, jealous, loyal, cunning, and naive. Sung by Deborah Voigt (of Wagner fame) the emotions of Tosca as she transforms from naive, pious, lover to avenging angel were well acted. Her vocals were adequate but a bit too powerful and not as nimble as the part demands.
Likewise, Vladimir Galouzine in the role of Cavaradossi moved well in the role, but I found his voice a bit stiff. He did hit the notes accurately and made the vocal leaps well, but his voice, like Voigt's seemed a little too heavy for the part.
The standout performance was James Morris in the role of Scarpia. He sang beautifully and managed to avoid the caricature of mustache, twirling bad guy that Scarpia sometimes devolves into. His Scarpia was by turns, suave, falsely empathetic and truly sinister.
The orchestra under the direction of Sir Andrew Davis performed brilliantly.
My only criticism of this performance is the use of the tired, old (45+ years old I think)) Franco Zefferelli sets.
Dark and gloomy beyond belief, its time these old warhorses were retired.
( But please lets avoid the debacle the The Met had with their opening of Tosca. http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/sep/22/tosca-metropolitan-opera-review. Even more spartan sets? Please no. And frankly, I'll take my Tosca without the fellatio, thank you very much. As the Guardian points out, Scarpia is the embodiment of repressed sexuality, not the expression of sexuality gone wild).
With the beautiful score and very good acting, the somewhat heavy-handed vocal performances by Voigt and Galouzine only marginally reduced my enjoyment of the opera. Next time, let's try voices known for Italian opera and new, brighter sets.
Posted with comments at the Opera Community: http://community.livejournal.com/opera/325364.html
