Comfort Food
G Puccini: Tosca, Chisinau National Opera, New Theatre, Oxford, 2 February 2004.
Before starting my review of this production I must confess to certain prejudices.
Tosca is not my favourite opera. I once told a friend that I could not see how Tosca could be anyone's favourite opera. Ever since, she has regarded me as some kind of a monster. Indeed, I tend to the opinion that it is 'a shabby little shocker', which I had always believed was that of Sir Thomas Beecham until I checked recently in a dictionary of musical quotations which gives the source 'anon'.
Neither is Puccini my favourite opera composer. I find his music too episodic and lacking in continuity. The music seems to skate over the emotional surface of the underlying melodrama of his plots, acting as a vehicle for the occasional vocal highlight (excerpt) amid fragmentary dialogue. (I like to contrast Puccini (1858-1924) with Janá¹ek (1854- 1928). Janá¹ek's plot development is continuous and the music bites deep into the underlying drama.) I would like to be able to continue 'and yet, I am always carried away by the beauty of the melody, by glorious singing and the depth of Puccini's dramatic insights'. Unfortunately, this is not often the case. This is not to say that I never enjoy productions of Puccini operas. I remember in my youth hearing Eva Turner sing Turandot at Covent Garden. This was an impressive production which nearly came to grief when the bearers holding her vast train as she mounted a staircase, towards the end, almost caused her to tumble backwards. Forty years later at a performance in Lyon, Turandot required reading glasses to pose the riddles! Among other Puccini operas, I can recall several good Bohèmes, a fairly memorable Fanciulla del West by WNO in 1991, a good Suor Angelica, a part of a Trittico, at the London Colliseum. Madame Butterfly remains a blind spot despite a persuasive sepia-tinted production, also by WNO some years ago. (I can never envisage how she got into such a predicament in the first place.) Tosca, itself, some ten years ago, received a fascinating real time, in situ television production, spread over four transmissions in two days. It was last seen in an almost convincing production in Washington DC in 2000, with Oxford's own Sergei Lieferkus playing Scarpia. One shudders at accounts of recent productions.
So why did I choose to attend this performance of Tosca at the New Theatre? This production, presented by Ellen Kent and Opera International, offered 'spectacular traditional sets and costumes, performed by Chisinau National Opera' of Moldavia. Perhaps it was nostalgia for a clean old-fashioned operatic production away from the damaging egocentricity of scatological Spaniards and puerile politically posturing Americans. The production is starting a tour of Britain and Ireland, with some sixty performances in forty theatres between now and July. This is an enormous test of stamina for cast and production staff, though three or four singers share the principal roles.
The plot is well known. The three acts may be encapsulated in three sentences. The opera singer, Floria Tosca, is the jealous mistress of the painter Cavaradossi, who conceals an escaped political prisoner, Andreotti. Tosca reveals the latter's whereabouts when her lover is tortured by order of Scarpia, Chief of Police, whom she then stabs after offering herself in exchange for a letter of safe conduct, to follow a mock execution. The execution is for real; Tosca ends her own life by leaping from the battlements of Castel Sant'Angelo.
One entered the auditorium to find the curtain raised on a realistic representation of the church of Sant'Andrea della Valle with sacristans setting the atmosphere by swinging censers and lighting candles. One was left to contemplate how comfortably realistic and solid the sets looked, compared to those of recent visits of other touring opera companies. The opening portentous brass chords from the orchestra set the mood but unfortunately soon revealed what was to be the main weakness of the performance, a bad lack of balance in the orchestral sound. There were far too few strings and the wind sound was too reedy. This being Puccini, it did not detract too much from one's enjoyment of the performance; he is not noted for the subtlety of his orchestration. For any other composer it could have been a disaster.
As usual, one awaited with bated breath the first notes of the tenor. Akhmed Agadi, singing Cavaradossi, did not disappoint. He had a strong, clear and accurate voice and gave a worthy performance of his first excerpt, 'recondita armonia'. But his voice went from strength to strength; his rendering of 'e lucevan le stelle' was superb. The Ukrainian, Larysa Malych, sang Tosca. She looked the part, had great stage presence and a wonderful voice. Her performance of Tosca's excerpt, 'vissi d'arte' was one of the most tender and moving that I have ever heard. The trio of principals was completed with the Scarpia of Boris Materinco, who has been with the company since 1985. He gave a marvellous portrayal of evil within a suave exterior. The three voices were perfectly matched and one could almost say that the best singing was that of the exchanges between Tosca and Scarpia in Act II, and the final duet of soprano and tenor.
The director was Eugen Platon, who has also been with the company for many years. The direction was conventional, following the stage instructions closely. There were a few niggles: while Cavaradossi's torture left him with blood on his sleeve, Scarpia (stabbed in the stomach, rather than the heart) shed no blood at all. Perhaps with such a heavy schedule the company has no time for laundry! Worst of all, the advertised stunt artist, doubling as Tosca, 'jumping from a great height to bring the performance to a truly blood-curdling finale' was a complete flop (in a manner of speaking)! The 'double' was obviously the wrong height and could not even handle Tosca's dress when taking a curtain call!
The Chisinau National Opera, which is returning to Oxford with Turandot on 16 May and with Carmen on 20 June, deserves to take its place as an equal with our other regular visitors, the Welsh National and Glyndebourne Touring (or could do if it would double the size of the string section of the orchestra). Admittedly, it is comfort food rather than nouvelle cuisine but both have their place in a balanced diet! It is not only the staging which has an old-fashioned aspect but the timbre of the singing also has a nostalgic air. The house was comfortably full but not the sell-out it deserved to be, the audience far more a cross-section than that for our other regular visitors. It gives the lie to the misguided opinion that to get 'bums on seats' it is necessary to become ever more outrageous and explicit. Why does Covent Garden not borrow productions such as this, rather than those of soi-disant avant-garde continental directors, which have passed their sell-by date?
As for Tosca, perhaps I can now see how it can be a favourite opera. However, I am unlikely, myself, to be converted. Of the two singers, I find Janá¹ek's Emilia Marty by far the more fascinating character.
G Puccini: Tosca, Chisinau National Opera, New Theatre, Oxford, 2 February 2004.
Before starting my review of this production I must confess to certain prejudices.
Tosca is not my favourite opera. I once told a friend that I could not see how Tosca could be anyone's favourite opera. Ever since, she has regarded me as some kind of a monster. Indeed, I tend to the opinion that it is 'a shabby little shocker', which I had always believed was that of Sir Thomas Beecham until I checked recently in a dictionary of musical quotations which gives the source 'anon'.
Neither is Puccini my favourite opera composer. I find his music too episodic and lacking in continuity. The music seems to skate over the emotional surface of the underlying melodrama of his plots, acting as a vehicle for the occasional vocal highlight (excerpt) amid fragmentary dialogue. (I like to contrast Puccini (1858-1924) with Janá¹ek (1854- 1928). Janá¹ek's plot development is continuous and the music bites deep into the underlying drama.) I would like to be able to continue 'and yet, I am always carried away by the beauty of the melody, by glorious singing and the depth of Puccini's dramatic insights'. Unfortunately, this is not often the case. This is not to say that I never enjoy productions of Puccini operas. I remember in my youth hearing Eva Turner sing Turandot at Covent Garden. This was an impressive production which nearly came to grief when the bearers holding her vast train as she mounted a staircase, towards the end, almost caused her to tumble backwards. Forty years later at a performance in Lyon, Turandot required reading glasses to pose the riddles! Among other Puccini operas, I can recall several good Bohèmes, a fairly memorable Fanciulla del West by WNO in 1991, a good Suor Angelica, a part of a Trittico, at the London Colliseum. Madame Butterfly remains a blind spot despite a persuasive sepia-tinted production, also by WNO some years ago. (I can never envisage how she got into such a predicament in the first place.) Tosca, itself, some ten years ago, received a fascinating real time, in situ television production, spread over four transmissions in two days. It was last seen in an almost convincing production in Washington DC in 2000, with Oxford's own Sergei Lieferkus playing Scarpia. One shudders at accounts of recent productions.
So why did I choose to attend this performance of Tosca at the New Theatre? This production, presented by Ellen Kent and Opera International, offered 'spectacular traditional sets and costumes, performed by Chisinau National Opera' of Moldavia. Perhaps it was nostalgia for a clean old-fashioned operatic production away from the damaging egocentricity of scatological Spaniards and puerile politically posturing Americans. The production is starting a tour of Britain and Ireland, with some sixty performances in forty theatres between now and July. This is an enormous test of stamina for cast and production staff, though three or four singers share the principal roles.
The plot is well known. The three acts may be encapsulated in three sentences. The opera singer, Floria Tosca, is the jealous mistress of the painter Cavaradossi, who conceals an escaped political prisoner, Andreotti. Tosca reveals the latter's whereabouts when her lover is tortured by order of Scarpia, Chief of Police, whom she then stabs after offering herself in exchange for a letter of safe conduct, to follow a mock execution. The execution is for real; Tosca ends her own life by leaping from the battlements of Castel Sant'Angelo.
One entered the auditorium to find the curtain raised on a realistic representation of the church of Sant'Andrea della Valle with sacristans setting the atmosphere by swinging censers and lighting candles. One was left to contemplate how comfortably realistic and solid the sets looked, compared to those of recent visits of other touring opera companies. The opening portentous brass chords from the orchestra set the mood but unfortunately soon revealed what was to be the main weakness of the performance, a bad lack of balance in the orchestral sound. There were far too few strings and the wind sound was too reedy. This being Puccini, it did not detract too much from one's enjoyment of the performance; he is not noted for the subtlety of his orchestration. For any other composer it could have been a disaster.
As usual, one awaited with bated breath the first notes of the tenor. Akhmed Agadi, singing Cavaradossi, did not disappoint. He had a strong, clear and accurate voice and gave a worthy performance of his first excerpt, 'recondita armonia'. But his voice went from strength to strength; his rendering of 'e lucevan le stelle' was superb. The Ukrainian, Larysa Malych, sang Tosca. She looked the part, had great stage presence and a wonderful voice. Her performance of Tosca's excerpt, 'vissi d'arte' was one of the most tender and moving that I have ever heard. The trio of principals was completed with the Scarpia of Boris Materinco, who has been with the company since 1985. He gave a marvellous portrayal of evil within a suave exterior. The three voices were perfectly matched and one could almost say that the best singing was that of the exchanges between Tosca and Scarpia in Act II, and the final duet of soprano and tenor.
The director was Eugen Platon, who has also been with the company for many years. The direction was conventional, following the stage instructions closely. There were a few niggles: while Cavaradossi's torture left him with blood on his sleeve, Scarpia (stabbed in the stomach, rather than the heart) shed no blood at all. Perhaps with such a heavy schedule the company has no time for laundry! Worst of all, the advertised stunt artist, doubling as Tosca, 'jumping from a great height to bring the performance to a truly blood-curdling finale' was a complete flop (in a manner of speaking)! The 'double' was obviously the wrong height and could not even handle Tosca's dress when taking a curtain call!
The Chisinau National Opera, which is returning to Oxford with Turandot on 16 May and with Carmen on 20 June, deserves to take its place as an equal with our other regular visitors, the Welsh National and Glyndebourne Touring (or could do if it would double the size of the string section of the orchestra). Admittedly, it is comfort food rather than nouvelle cuisine but both have their place in a balanced diet! It is not only the staging which has an old-fashioned aspect but the timbre of the singing also has a nostalgic air. The house was comfortably full but not the sell-out it deserved to be, the audience far more a cross-section than that for our other regular visitors. It gives the lie to the misguided opinion that to get 'bums on seats' it is necessary to become ever more outrageous and explicit. Why does Covent Garden not borrow productions such as this, rather than those of soi-disant avant-garde continental directors, which have passed their sell-by date?
As for Tosca, perhaps I can now see how it can be a favourite opera. However, I am unlikely, myself, to be converted. Of the two singers, I find Janá¹ek's Emilia Marty by far the more fascinating character.