Tosca @English National Opera 2022
The French playwright Victorien Sardou wrote more than seventy successful plays including a collaboration with the actress Sarah Bernhardt of the historical melodrama La Tosca which premiered in Paris in November 1887. Puccini, having seen the play in 1889 wrote to his publisher Ricordi to get Sardou’s permission for the work to be made into an opera. The librettist, Illica, was appointed to adapt the play for an opera but was sceptical whether this could be achieved. However, Puccini withdrew when he took offence at comments made by Sardou, and Ricordi appointed a new composer in 1891. The new composer found the story too violent and withdrew, and in 1896 Puccini resumed control of the Tosca project. Four years later, in January 1900 the premiere of Tosca was staged in Rome despite the composer’s repeated arguments with his librettist and publisher. Whilst successful with the public the critics at the time dismissed the opera with one calling it “this shabby little shocker“.
Perhaps it was all these difficulties that ENO’s Poet in Residence, Kieran Rennie, tried to express at the beginning of the evening in his extraordinary poem on Tosca.
Today Tosca has become the staple diet of most opera houses. Whilst not always easy to stage, Christof Loy, the German director, worked with his five-year-old outstanding production from the Finnish National Opera and adapted it for the ENO. At last, we have a production that is grand opera in three sets. The first set is the interior of a church. The second set is a grand room in a grand palace with a moving tapestry drop covering one wall. The third set is a rooftop for Tosca to fall off as the last notes of the opera fades. The costumes are a complete mixture of period and modern but somehow the mixture seems to work.
Our Tosca is the wonderful Irish soprano Sinéad Campbell-Wallace who has a thrilling voice especially in the upper register with a magnetic personality to match. The way she stabs Scarpia – not just once – and then dresses his dead body with candelabras, was as emotional as it was dramatic.
She fitted well with her lover Cavaradossi sung by British tenor Adam Smith who was making his ENO debut. His is an exciting voice solid in presentation although somewhat intense in his middle. There is no hint of gear change through the octaves particularly when reaching into his upper register, where he produces a beautiful Italianate tone.
However, perhaps the voice of the night didn’t come from the stage at all! The outstanding British baritone, Roland Wood, sang the role of Scarpia from the side of the stage as the intended Scarpia – the American baritone Noel Bouley – was vocally impaired and accordingly he walked the role on stage only. Wood’s Scarpia was a real tour de force and blended well with the high-quality cast.
All the minor roles being the Angelotti of the South African bass Msimelelo Mbali, the Spoletta of John Findon – a Harewood artist, the Sciarrone of Ossian Huskinson another Harewood artist, and the Sacristan of Lucia Lucas were all well matched. The interesting bass voice of Ronald Nairne in the role of the Gaoler stood out together with the Girl of Matilda McDonald as a young Tosca – part of Cavaradossi’s dream before he faced the firing squad.
Under the baton of conductor, Leo Hussain, the outstanding orchestra and chorus played and sang their hearts out. Perhaps occasionally there was a slight mismatch around the volume of sound, but the chorus were on top form in the Te Deum.
ENO appears to have a very good revivable Tosca on their hands. Catch it if you can!
