Australian Opera | Tosca

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06/06/2018

by Irena Begelfor

Under the direction of the acclaimed John Bell, the action is transposed from 1800s Rome, which was under the threat of Napoleon's invasion of Italy, to 1940s Nazi-occupied Rome. The original audiences of Tosca would have had the same sickening reaction to seeing the French soldiers as we do to seeing Nazis. In fact, the themes of this opera are just as relevant today – the fight for justice against powerful aggressors, and the power of love that leads to jealousy, sacrifice, revenge and even murder. And all this is set to some of Puccini's best-known arias.

Three dynamo lead performers star in this marvellous opera. They are the tenor, Diego Torre, as Cavaradosi, Latonia Moore as Tosca and Marco Vratogna as Scarpia. Each of them not only has a gifted voice, but they are wonderful and expressive actors.

Cavaradosi and Tosca interact with both tenderness and a burning magnetism that express the essential tension of their relationship.

The intensity of the verbal and psychological battle between Tosca and Chief of Police, Scarpia, is both ferocious and real. We feel Tosca's desperation and hopelessness when she hears the cries of Cavaradosi being tortured, and we have a sense of satisfaction when she repeatedly stabs Scarpia to his death. This Is 'The Kiss of Tosca'!

Although the support roles are less prominent in Tosca than perhaps in other operas, they ably support the main characters. Gennadi Dubinsky in the role of Angelotti gave a particularly strong performance, as did the Australian Opera chorus. The animated young conductor, Andrea Battistoni, who leads Orchestra Victoria, further heightened the performance.

Tosca is a character who is pious and gentle, yet capable of killing Scarpia, the most feared officer, to save her love. In the original Tosca, she commits suicide but, in this version, the Nazis shoot her. For me, this was a questionable moment, as it deprived Tosca's proud persona of the freedom to choose suicide.

Overall, this production of Tosca is absolutely superb. The audience barely let the show finish before bursting into a rapturous applause.