mercoledì 3 giugno 2015

A Philological 'Tosca' in Music and Vision 9 marzo



Music and Vision homepageClassical Music Programme Notes for concerts and recordings, by Malcolm Miller

Ensemble
A Philological 'Tosca'
GIUSEPPE PENNISI reports from Rome

Tosca needs no introduction. The opera is one of Giacomo Puccini's war horses as well as one of the most performed music dramas worldwide. Indeed, Tosca is the first Italian music drama. The date of its debut in the Rome Opera House, 14 January 1900, is considered as the turning point in Italian music — the real start of the musical twentieth century. The plot is based on a single day and on a precise date (14 June 1800) around the misleading information reaching Rome on the outcome of the Marengo battle during a Napoleonic campaign to conquer Italy. However, the events are often moved by stage directors to other times, especially to that of Fascism (ie in the Jonathan Miller, Peter Sellars, Robert Carsen, and Pierluigi Pizzi productions). There's nothing of that in this new production which is a philological Tosca, exactly as it was performed on 14 January 1900.
Oksana Dyka as Tosca and Stefano La Colla as Cavaradossi in Puccini's 'Tosca' (Act I) at Opera di Roma. Photo © 2015 Yasuko Kageyama
Oksana Dyka as Tosca and Stefano La Colla as Cavaradossi in Puccini's 'Tosca' (Act I) at Opera di Roma.
Photo © 2015 Yasuko Kageyama. Click on the image for higher resolution
On the basis of the sketches as well as of a few 1900 photos, the laboratories faithfully reconstruct the sets and costumes by Adolf Hohenstein, based on French paintings of the late nineteenth century: as the pictures show, they are a joy for the eyes.
Oksana Dyka in the title role of Puccini's 'Tosca' (Act I) at Opera di Roma. Photo © 2015 Yasuko Kageyama
Oksana Dyka in the title role of Puccini's 'Tosca' (Act I) at Opera di Roma. Photo © 2015 Yasuko Kageyama. Click on the image for higher resolution
It is understandable that the then Queen of Italy was enthralled by the costume worn by the title role in the first act and demanded that similar attire be tailored for her.
The Act I finale of Puccini's 'Tosca' at Opera di Roma. Photo © 2015 Yasuko Kageyama
The Act I finale of Puccini's 'Tosca' at Opera di Roma. Photo © 2015 Yasuko Kageyama. Click on the image for higher resolution
An issue is that in the Italy of 1900, there was no stage direction as we understand it now. The South African-Italian stage director, Alessandro Talevi, has shown considerable imagination on various occasions (eg 'Champagne not Orange Juice', 8 June 2014) but for this production his wits were constrained by the need to scrupulously follow the scenic indications written by Puccini and the two authors of the libretto (Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica) for the debut. They are no more than notes with little attention to acting. As a result, Oksana Dyka (in the title role), who been an effective actress under Franco Zeffirelli and others, seemed a bit clumsy on 1 March 2015, the opening night, on which this review is based. She has, no doubt, a powerful dramatic voice but could have had a more gentle modulation, most likely a result of the little attention to careful acting.
From left to right: Robert Frontali as Scarpia, Stefano La Colla as Cavaradossi and Oksana Dyka in the title role of Puccini's 'Tosca' (Act II) at Opera di Roma. Photo © 2015 Yasuko Kageyama
From left to right: Robert Frontali as Scarpia, Stefano La Colla as Cavaradossi and Oksana Dyka in the title role of Puccini's 'Tosca' (Act II) at Opera di Roma. Photo © 2015 Yasuko Kageyama. Click on the image for higher resolution
Roberto Frontali is a well versed veteran Scarpia.
Oksana Dyka as Tosca and Robert Frontali as Scarpia in the final scene of Act II of Puccini's 'Tosca' at Opera di Roma. Photo © 2015 Yasuko Kageyama
Oksana Dyka as Tosca and Robert Frontali as Scarpia in the final scene of Act II of Puccini's 'Tosca' at Opera di Roma. Photo © 2015 Yasuko Kageyama. Click on the image for higher resolution
The tenor Stefano La Colla was a coup de théâtre himself. He was scheduled to sing only two of the fifteen performances, almost a consolation prize for a 'cover'. However, he had to step in because the 'star', Yonghoon Lee, was ill. In the first act, the audience was quite cold as he sang Recondite Armonie in a decent way, a difficult opening aria based entirely on the centre register. As the opera went on, La Colla seemed to grow and in the third act E Lucevan Le Stelle, the sold out theatre seemed to explode with accolades, ovations and requests for an encore. La Colla is a name to remember.
Oksana Dyka as Tosca and Robert Frontali as Scarpia in Act III of Puccini's 'Tosca' at Opera di Roma. Photo © 2015 Yasuko Kageyama
Oksana Dyka as Tosca and Robert Frontali as Scarpia in Act III of Puccini's 'Tosca' at Opera di Roma. Photo © 2015 Yasuko Kageyama. Click on the image for higher resolution
Renato Renzetti provided professional conducting; the orchestra knew the score very well. The choruses (including a children's chorus) were well directed by Roberto Gabbiani and José Maria Sciutto.
Copyright © 8 March 2015 Giuseppe Pennisi,
Rome, Italy
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