BY BEN NIELSEN
Opera Australia
Tosca by Puccini
Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House, 13 January 2105
“Have we seen this before?” a man mutters to his partner, in the ill-timed quiet of Act I. While I might usually turn my head to shush him (and almost consider doing so when he proceeds to noisily unwrap a boiled sweet), this time I suppress the urge to respond, “Yes, we have all seen this before. The entire summer season consists of revivals”.
This particular incarnation of Puccini’s Tosca was first performed in 2013, and is greeted once more by a full house. When the work originally premiered 100 years earlier, it gained a generally tepid reception (and was famously called a “shabby little shocker” by musicologist Joseph Kerman). Despite the criticism it has received over the years, Tosca has proved to be one of the hardiest of Puccini’s masterworks.
In adapting Victorien Sardou’s play La Tosca, Puccini and his team omitted a bulk of the existing narrative and characters. In spite of this, the operatic version remains interminably long – it comprises three acts in as many hours. Judging by the audience’s increasing inattention, Tosca might have benefited from a sympathetic pruning – and would probably have functioned just as effectively. Instead, director John Bell has changed the setting of the story to 1943 Italy. It’s an inspired move, as it helps to re-establish the gravitas of the story and the audience’s connection with it. It’s a shame that the surtitles were not adapted in a similar way, as they do not match the production’s fresh context or the unique voices of each character.
Tosca always seems to stick out among the verismo canon, even though there is little disagreement of its inclusion. The popular 19th Century tradition favours realistic representations of everyday life, but there is nothing particularly ordinary or believable about Tosca. Perhaps though, the cast’s mechanical and over-conscious acting is mainly to blame for this. Bell would have placed great emphasis on this element, and yet some scenes are purely farcical (Cavaradossi’s visual thought process when Angelotti first arrives, Scarpia’s plasticine-like facial expressions), and others simply lack the necessary punch (Scarpia’s murder, and Tosca’s demise).
Amanda Echalaz does, however, give a fine performance as Tosca. The well known Act II aria ‘Vissi d’arte’ is a predictable crowd pleaser, but there is also joy to be found in the depth of Echalaz’s characterisation. Tosca is at first irritatingly jealous and paranoid, and then triumphantly strong of heart and head. Her complexities are best described in the program booklet as fitting all three of Puccini’s favoured female characterisations: new woman, sentimental heroine and femme fatale.
Riccardo Massi makes a morally assured Cavaradossi, but his voice sounds a little too fragile. This is also strangely true of Adam Tamburini and Benjamin Rasheed, who both lack support and struggle to be heard over the orchestra. The Opera Australia Chorus hardly has this problem though, especially during the full-forced conclusion to Act I.
The scale of Tosca (both duration, score and story) is equalled by Michael Scott-Mitchell’s grand set. The church in Act I stands in heavenly glory, and the bleak scenery of the subsequent acts is just as imposing. Scott-Mitchell’s training in architecture is evident in his historically informed and highly detailed design.
As tragically thrilling as Tosca’s conclusion might be, little can redeem the generally dull production. It is an ambitious staging with several stand-out elements, but it can’t really be considered a highlight of Opera Australia’s current season. In fact, it’s a rather unfortunate waste of three hours.
Image supplied. Credit: Branco Gaica.
