Just for the record, I adore Tosca. It is my favourite of Puccini's operas, and I love them all, and one of my favourite operas of all time as well. But I really disliked this production. Until October I had not seen a bad Tosca(my favourites being the 1976, 1992, 1984 and 1985 productions), and then I saw the 2009 Met production with Mattila, Alvarez and Godnidze, not helped by inept staging, stark sets and a surprisingly bad Mattila. I also didn't care that much for the 2000 production with Guleghina, Licitra and Nucci for similar reasons, though Guleghina did what she could with her role which in that production was too Prima-Donna-ish even for Tosca.
But what those two productions had was one good performance, in both productions it was that of Scarpia. However, sorry to say but I didn't care for any of the performances here. Starting with the secondary cast, the Sacristan is a brief role but the performance here reads of "lets get it over and done with", in short, very phoned-in. Spoletta is a joke, strained and very "sprechstimme"-ish, and dramatically he has no involvement in the drama at all, diluting even further his scenes in Act 2 with Scarpia. Angelotti fares better, but compared to the dullness of the acting here, his presence feels melodramatic in comparison. The chorus singing is very static and of mumbling quality.
Tosca relies heavily on the three leads, and like I've said I found myself disappointed by all of them. Jose Cura's Cavaradossi is the best of the bunch, the singing while having some technical problems(coarseness and approaching notes from under) is dark and baritone-like, yet the high notes do ring and he is very musical. However, he doesn't have very much charisma here, so I missed Cavaradossi's poignancy and arrogance here, considering how thrilling the role is that is a major-let down. His Act 1 duet with Patane felt under-rehearsed. Francessca Patane was lacking for me as Tosca. I didn't find she fully engaged with the role or anyone around her, the whole performance came across as dull and passionless. Vocally I have no better news, and she is not helped by the microphone distortion. Her voice has a very unappealingly metallic edge to it, she goes sharp often under pressure and the chest notes are underpowered. I can see her as a good Mimi, Manon or Liu, but in general I think Tosca is too heavy for Patane in all honesty.
Renato Bruson was the biggest disappointment here. Not only is Scarpia the most interesting character of the opera and the one I always look forward to most but Bruson from past experience(especially as the best Nabucco on DVD) is a superb singing actor, possessing a rich, velvety voice and an ability to embody the role as seen in the father-figure roles like Germont. I didn't see much evidence of either of that here though. I knew he had potential to be good, he was excellent under Levine with Scotto and Domingo as Tosca and Cavaradossi(though I personally would've preferred someone like Milnes in the role for that recording). However, and I think misdirection had a lot to do with the problem, but I didn't find him sinister enough, if anything he seemed tired and bored, and vocally he is well past it with a truly unpleasant wobble on his high notes.
The cast aren't the only let downs. Although the music is magnificent, the orchestral playing sounded sloppy and as if they are not enjoying it one bit, even the hair-raising opening bars had no impact whatsoever. The conducting was uninspired on the whole too, with the whole of Act 2 completely lacking in intensity and the duet between Tosca and Cavaradossi in Act 1 very sluggishly paced. I wish I could say the same with the visual side of things but I can't. The staging is not inept and verging on offensive like the 2009 production, but everything seems so lifeless, all the passion, darkness, tragedy and spark that makes Tosca so wonderful as an opera fails to ignite here.
As for the sets, they have a very cardboard look to them, the church in Act 1 is the anti-thesis of foreboding and the interiors of Scarpia's rooms are too gaudy for my tastes. They even start to shake visibly when doors are slammed. The costumes on the whole are unflattering, Patane at times actually looks swamped by what she is made to wear. The sound quality is too tinny, the picture quality lacks clarity and the sub-titles, after hearing many complaints before about many inaccuracies, are among the worst presented I've seen for any opera production, with misspellings, capitalisation errors and times where you can't even see them properly.
For me, the only redeeming values of this Tosca were the music, Cura's singing and the Castel Sant'Angelo setting in Act 3. Everything else however in my opinion was an unfortunate waste. 3/10 Bethany Cox
But what those two productions had was one good performance, in both productions it was that of Scarpia. However, sorry to say but I didn't care for any of the performances here. Starting with the secondary cast, the Sacristan is a brief role but the performance here reads of "lets get it over and done with", in short, very phoned-in. Spoletta is a joke, strained and very "sprechstimme"-ish, and dramatically he has no involvement in the drama at all, diluting even further his scenes in Act 2 with Scarpia. Angelotti fares better, but compared to the dullness of the acting here, his presence feels melodramatic in comparison. The chorus singing is very static and of mumbling quality.
Tosca relies heavily on the three leads, and like I've said I found myself disappointed by all of them. Jose Cura's Cavaradossi is the best of the bunch, the singing while having some technical problems(coarseness and approaching notes from under) is dark and baritone-like, yet the high notes do ring and he is very musical. However, he doesn't have very much charisma here, so I missed Cavaradossi's poignancy and arrogance here, considering how thrilling the role is that is a major-let down. His Act 1 duet with Patane felt under-rehearsed. Francessca Patane was lacking for me as Tosca. I didn't find she fully engaged with the role or anyone around her, the whole performance came across as dull and passionless. Vocally I have no better news, and she is not helped by the microphone distortion. Her voice has a very unappealingly metallic edge to it, she goes sharp often under pressure and the chest notes are underpowered. I can see her as a good Mimi, Manon or Liu, but in general I think Tosca is too heavy for Patane in all honesty.
Renato Bruson was the biggest disappointment here. Not only is Scarpia the most interesting character of the opera and the one I always look forward to most but Bruson from past experience(especially as the best Nabucco on DVD) is a superb singing actor, possessing a rich, velvety voice and an ability to embody the role as seen in the father-figure roles like Germont. I didn't see much evidence of either of that here though. I knew he had potential to be good, he was excellent under Levine with Scotto and Domingo as Tosca and Cavaradossi(though I personally would've preferred someone like Milnes in the role for that recording). However, and I think misdirection had a lot to do with the problem, but I didn't find him sinister enough, if anything he seemed tired and bored, and vocally he is well past it with a truly unpleasant wobble on his high notes.
The cast aren't the only let downs. Although the music is magnificent, the orchestral playing sounded sloppy and as if they are not enjoying it one bit, even the hair-raising opening bars had no impact whatsoever. The conducting was uninspired on the whole too, with the whole of Act 2 completely lacking in intensity and the duet between Tosca and Cavaradossi in Act 1 very sluggishly paced. I wish I could say the same with the visual side of things but I can't. The staging is not inept and verging on offensive like the 2009 production, but everything seems so lifeless, all the passion, darkness, tragedy and spark that makes Tosca so wonderful as an opera fails to ignite here.
As for the sets, they have a very cardboard look to them, the church in Act 1 is the anti-thesis of foreboding and the interiors of Scarpia's rooms are too gaudy for my tastes. They even start to shake visibly when doors are slammed. The costumes on the whole are unflattering, Patane at times actually looks swamped by what she is made to wear. The sound quality is too tinny, the picture quality lacks clarity and the sub-titles, after hearing many complaints before about many inaccuracies, are among the worst presented I've seen for any opera production, with misspellings, capitalisation errors and times where you can't even see them properly.
For me, the only redeeming values of this Tosca were the music, Cura's singing and the Castel Sant'Angelo setting in Act 3. Everything else however in my opinion was an unfortunate waste. 3/10 Bethany Cox
