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The Spectator, 21 May 2008 |
Michael Tanner |
Puccini: Tosca, London, ROH, 12 May 2008
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Feel the passion
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The latest revival of Tosca at the Royal Opera,
with many changes in production by Stephen Barlow, shows signs of taking the
work seriously, though they are contradicted by the corporate- and
bar-friendly intervals, of a length to dissipate tension and momentum.
Antonio Pappano’s conducting, too, displays a passion for the opera, every
orchestral masterstroke being held up as a trophy; while it also moves
towards one ponderous pause after another, so that Act II, which when
conducted coarsely enough is a terrifying vortex of violence and lust,
seemed languorous and torpid. It all gave the excellent cast a chance to
show their gifts, and they took it. The result was that the star of the
occasion was Cavaradossi, usually a mere cipher without whom the perverse
romance of Tosca and Scarpia couldn’t be worked out.
Jonas Kaufmann, a great tenor in his prime, is only used by Covent Garden
in ‘stooge’ roles, but always electrifies by his presence and his thrilling
Germano–Italian voice. His stupendous rendering of ‘Recondita armonia’ was
rightly greeted with shouts of relief as much as excitement — this sound was
what we last heard from Domingo in his prime; while ‘Vittoria!’ suggested a
Corelli who hadn’t abandoned taste. And ‘E lucevan le stelle’ achieved such
inwardness that it got the supreme accolade of silence. He is a convincing
actor, too, though I wish he wouldn’t fold his arms as an all-purpose
gesture of irritation, boredom, contempt or defiance. Paolo Gavanelli is
a bug of a Scarpia, with not much more voice than Tito Gobbi had in his
later years, but an effective portrayal of arthritic lechery and
viciousness.
The Tosca of Micaela Carosi is on the grand scale, imperious vocally and in
demeanour, though she doesn’t have a great deal of voice at her disposal.
The secondary roles are exceptionally strongly cast — but now we need Opera
North’s astonishing production to show what Tosca can really be, if the idea
is that we should be distressed as well as shocked. All Paul Brown’s heavy
masonry, besides being perilous for the singers and largely ghastly to look
at, suggests that the audience should be mere sight-seers, while a
production that involves you is an experience that gives pause for some
disturbing thoughts.
Same article, but about Idomeneo at Barbican
The title role was taken by Ian Bostridge, a tenor at the opposite end
of the spectrum from Kaufmann — though I’d love to hear Kaufmann sing the
part (but I think Bostridge perhaps should resist any temptation to move
into Puccini). |
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