‘Where would the opera houses be without Puccini?”, a friend observed during this latest Royal Ballet and Opera revival of Tosca. It is 100 years this Friday since Puccini died, but he does more of the Covent Garden box office’s heavy lifting than ever. Tosca, La Bohème and Turandot are all slated for runs this season.
A revival like this one tells you why. With the three principal roles strongly cast, and the orchestra in buoyant form, only the hardest of critical hearts can resist. Yes, Tosca is a crude and melodramatic opera. And, no, the third act does not quite measure up to the first two. But Puccini’s musical ambition and his theatrical punch are masterly.
Many will come to hear Bryn Terfel reprise the lustful intimidatory Scarpia that was part of the original cast when this production by Jonathan Kent launched in 2006. They won’t be disappointed. Terfel’s cruel presence, the incisiveness of his diction and, at times, the beauty of his Welsh sound are front and centre. Terfel’s Scarpia was crammed with detailed vocal and stage craft, but he let rip in the climactic scene at the end of act one. It is a compelling characterisation, though the wear and tear on the voice are beginning to be obvious.
In a less celebrity driven world, Natalya Romaniw’s Tosca would be every bit as much of a draw as Terfel’s Scarpia. Her soprano may just miss the final ounce of dramatic heft that the role ideally requires, but Romaniw brings a rare subtle delicacy and depth of colouring to the title role. Hers is always a vulnerable Tosca, not a wildcat, and she rewards with the loveliest singing of the evening.
As Tosca’s lover Cavaradossi, South Korea’s Seokjong Baek shows why he has become Covent Garden’s go-to Italianate tenor of the moment. Baek is not much of an actor, but audiences come to hear Cavaradossi, not believe in him. His is a big robust tenor, burnished with a baritonal register. He seizes his set pieces with complete confidence, if not great subtlety.
Baek’s compatriot, Eun Sun Kim, music director of the San Francisco Opera, made a fine Covent Garden debut in the pit. Her delicate handling of the accompaniment to Romaniw’s pious Vissi d’arte was unusually skilful, and she helped the secondary characters to be clearly heard, which doesn’t always happen either. By resisting the relentless blood and thunder approach to Puccini’s score, Kim’s work confirmed that subtle conducting is integral to any successful Tosca – which this one is.
