Wooden acting drains lavish Tosca of its magic
Filed Under Kitchen Curtain | Posted on January 28, 2008
Tosca
(out of 4)By Giacomo Puccini. Conducted by Richard Buckley. Directed by Paul Curran. Canadian Opera Company. To Feb. 23 at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, 145 Queen St. W. 416-363-8231
Friday night’s opening of a new production of Giacomo Puccini’s beloved Tosca by the Canadian Opera Company proved that opera-goers must constitute the most forgiving audiences on Earth.This handsome spectacle drew the requisite curtain-call ovation despite failing to make the leap from pretty, safe and predictable to something that aroused the senses. It all came down to a lack of spark from the stage, which couldn’t be masked by the lavish design, which is faithful to the setting in Rome, circa 1800.Here are but two examples:A death-row inmate sits alone in his cell recalling the starlit night when his sweet-smelling beloved first entered his life. Violins hum as he gathers his memories. But his face remains impassive, his voice emotionless as he begins a loud recitation of that fateful meeting.Later, he sings rapturously of her pure, sweet hands %26ndash; to his feet, while her back is turned. If this were theatre, the audience would laugh in embarrassment. But in opera, suspension of disbelief too often also includes the quality of the acting.The story revolves around diva Floria Tosca; her boyfriend, Mario Cavaradossi, a painter; and Baron Scarpia, the tyrannical chief of police, who has eyes for any woman with a pulse.Tosca rebuffs Scarpia’s advances by killing him with a dagger. Cavaradossi is executed for helping a political prisoner escape. And Tosca plunges to her death from the prison parapet.All three principals are repeat COC guests. Hungarian soprano Eszter S眉megi reprises the title role she first sang here in 2003. She fought conductor Richard Buckley on tempos a few times during Act I, and her voice took a while to warm up. But once in full flight, there were no problems. S眉megi invested Tosca’s great aria, Vissi d’arte, with tremendous emotion.Otherwise, her acting was awkward, often looking as if she didn’t know what to do next.British baritone Alan Opie, in robust vocal form, was more surly than ferocious as Scarpia.Russian tenor Mikhail Agafonov has the ringing high notes that are the stuff of operatic legend.Too bad he has the stage presence of a tree stump. Agafonov failed to convey any emotion or motivation right from his first aria, the sweet Recondita armonia, which he sang as if complaining about bad restaurant service.Fortunately, the rest of the cast was solid, as was Sandra Horst’s chorus and members of the Canadian Children’s Opera Chorus.Paul Curran’s direction is unremarkable in this traditional effort nicely graced by Kevin Knight’s sets and costumes. David Martin Jacques’ lighting is dimly effective.Buckley’s musical direction captured every subtlety of the score while also giving the larger canvas deep Technicolor hues.It all came tantalizingly close to being magical. Yet it wasn’t.
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