OPERA REVIEW: TOSCA

JOHN COULBOURN,
QMI Agency
21 JAN 2012
R: 4.5/5

Pictured: Adrianne Pieczonka

TORONTO - Over the years, her success has been thanks as much to a pantheon of incredibly talented operatic sopranos, one suspects, as to playwright Victorien Sardou (who first dreamed her onto the stage), or even composer Giacomo Puccini and librettist Luigi Illica, who subsequently turned her into one of opera’s most enduring heroines.

But, regardless of who put her there, Floria Tosca, the tempestuous and tragic heroine of the opera that bears her name, is firmly ensconced as royalty in the opera world. And the Canadian Opera Company’s latest production — a revival of their 2008 co-production with the Norwegian Opera and Ballet — could one day serve to enhance her golden reputation. TOSCA opened at the Four Seasons Centre Saturday where it will run through Feb. 25.

It is, in an opera world increasingly enamoured of high-concept stagings, a pretty straight-forward retelling of a timeless tale. In tracing the romance of a tempestuous diva named Tosca (sung here by soprano Adrianne Pieczonka, sharing the role with Julie Makerov) and her artist-lover Mario Cavaradossi (tenor Carlo Ventre, sharing the role with Brandon Jovanovich) as they become tragically entangled in a fatal web spun by the evil Baron Scarpia (baritone Mark Delavan), director Paul Curran and designer Kevin Knight wisely don’t stray much from the seven hills of Napoleonic Rome, where the story is set.

The church of Sant’Andrea della Valle where Cavaradossi labours, the private rooms of the Farnese Palace where Scarpia pulls his strings, and finally the parapets of the Castel Sant’Angelo where it all ends in tragedy are all impressively evoked by the designer, enhanced at every turn by the lighting of David Martin Jacques, as the story unfolds.

And, carried aloft as much by their own talents as by the music of Puccini, served up here with the kind of crystal clarity that marks fine champagne by conductor Paolo Carignani and the COC Orchestra, the extensive cast, bolstered by members of the COC Chorus, turn it all into a musical banquet, as Pieczonka leaps from note to note in a stunning display of mature artistry, tracing the path of her heroine’s descent into hell with surefooted skill. Meanwhile, as her love interest, Ventre proves to be one of those tenors audiences simply adore, serving up each honeyed note fairly dripping with emotion.

And finally, there is Delevan, drawing maximum malice out of every note his character sings, relishing the dramatic stretch as much as the musical one. There’s strong vocal work too, from a supporting cast that includes bass-baritones Peter Strummer (as the bumbling Sacristan), Christian Van Horn (as the noble but doomed Angelotti) and tenor David Cangelosi (as Scarpia’s henchman Spoletta).

In fact, all that’s missing finally, is a challenging directorial vision to mould it into a spectacular package, for despite all its promise it never quite soars under Curran’s direction — despite the promise of the first act, highlighted by Scarpia’s arrival. It slackens in the pivotal second act, however, as neither Delevan nor the divine Pieczonka seem adequately driven to match their acting talents with their magnificent vocal chops. Undone, it seems, as much by the sprawl of Scarpia’s headquarters as by the subject matter, Curran never quite succeeds in unleashing the full horror of Scarpia’s appalling lechery and the horrific choice he presents to the tortured Tosca — to sacrifice her honour or her lover.

Still, it is a memorable production, one that is all but certain to delight fans of Puccini’s enduring tragedy and ensure that here in Toronto, TOSCA will continue to reign as one of the toasts of the opera world.