Tosca is a riveting drama of love, lust and betrayal. Add in Puccini’s impossibly lush score and a few show-stopper arias, this opera is the whole package. Directed by Paul Curran, this COC revival of the 2017 production features brand new leads in their COC debuts: Irish soprano Sinéad Campbell-Wallace as Tosca and Italian tenor Stefano La Colla as Cavaradossi, and expectations are high.
What you missed
La Colla is a fine, smitten Cavaradossi. His warm, creamy sound carried the high notes beautifully. Tosca is a temperamental character – loving and charming one moment, jealous and angry the next. Campbell-Wallace, on the other hand, took a middle-of-the-road approach. Her Tosca is mostly stoic and her vocal colours rather bland in Act I. The chemistry between Tosca and Cavaradossi appeared lukewarm, and Tosca barely turned up the temperature to raise Scarpia’s blood pressure.
Photo: Michael Cooper
British baritone Roland Wood also suffered from some stiff acting in Act I. Despite the foreboding orchestral theme announcing Scarpia’s arrival, he did not immediately command an evil presence. His “Te Deum” did not smoulder, and much of it was drowned by the orchestra. Act I left me feeling underwhelmed and wishing for greater dramatic fire.
Thankfully, things improved greatly in Act II, which opened to the opulent sets of the palace apartment. Scarpia’s brutal interrogation of Cavaradossi and his heated exchange with Tosca oozed vileness. Tosca responded with a range of emotions from disdain to anger to despair. It culminated in the best moment of the night for Campbell-Wallace, as she poured out a genuinely heart-wrenching “Vissi d’arte”, sensitively sung with palpable anguish and despair.
Equal to the task, La Colla’s “E lucevan le stelle” was the highlight of the final act, sung with true pathos. Tosca’s last words “Scarpia, we meet before God” also rang lasting chills in the air before her dramatic plunge to her death.
There was solid singing from the supporting cast: American bass-baritone Christian Pursell in his COC debut as Angelotti; Italian bass Donato Di Stefano (Sacristan); Canadian tenor Michael Colvin (Spoletta); and Canadian bass-baritones Giles Tomkins and Alex Halliday as Scarionne and a Jailer, respectively. Despite its brief appearance, the COC chorus was up to mark as usual.
Gripes
The COC orchestra delivered a bright sound with gusto under Italian conductor Giuliano Carella, but his approach was somewhat heavy-handed. The orchestra was excessively loud when accompanying the three leads in their signature arias, and threatened to over-shadow the tender moments in “Vissi d’arte” and “E lucevan le stelle”.
Canadian Opera Company presents Tosca at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto on May 5, 7, 11, 13, 19, 21, 23, and 27, 2023. www.coc.ca
