Jonathan Kent’s stunning production of Puccini’s Tosca was first seen at the Royal Opera House in 2006 and this is already its 14th revival. The music and the dramatic plot make Tosca one of the greatest of all operas and Kent’s staging cannot be bettered.
George Bernard Shaw described opera as “when a tenor and soprano want to make love, but are prevented from doing so by a baritone,” and Tosca is a particularly fine example of this. The story is set in Rome around 1800 where the two lovers are the painter Cavaradossi and the singer Tosca; the man who seeks to come between them is the wicked and powerful Chief of Police Baron Scarpia, who lusts after Tosca. With Napoleon’s troops trying to retake Rome from the Italians, political friction is added by Scarpia’s royalist views clashing with the lovers’ republicanism.
The intensity of the plot grows and proves fatal for all three main characters, with murder, firing squad and suicide all playing their parts as Puccini’s music beautifully embraces love, violence and even a little humour to lighten the mood when necessary.
+ There are no comments
Add yours