Steel and sparks: Stikhina, Tézier and Tetelman outstanding in Wallmann’s classic Vienna Tosca

Earlier this year, Tosca celebrated its 125th anniversary. Puccini’s “shabby little shocker” quickly became a resident fixture on opera house playbills, but one production has dominated the schedules, running for the majority of those 125 years. Margarethe Wallmann’s classic staging premiered at the Wiener Staatsoper on 3rd April 1958, with Renata Tebaldi in the title role, conducted by Herbert von Karajan. It has returned every single year, a revolving door for star singers, evidenced in this 663rd performance featuring an outstanding trio of principals.

The production does exactly what it says in Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa’s libretto. No more. No less. Nicola Benois’ sets and costumes are exquisitely detailed. The church of Sant’Andrea della Valle seems to go on forever into the depths of the stage; during Scarpia and Tosca’s exchanges, you can see the bustle of church activity in the distance. Swiss Guards accompany the congregation in a diagonal procession in the Te Deum. The Palazzo Farnese is properly grand. From the battlements of the Castel Sant’Angelo looms the dome of St Peter’s beneath a starfield that fades as Cavaraodossi’s last day dawns. The whiff of cordite hangs in the air after his execution and Tosca’s leap.

No revival director is ever credited, because the singers are largely doing their own thing… and doing it very well, with singers’ instinct and experience. They’ll each bring an individual touch, but also – unshackled by any directorial concept – they can spark off each other and make it their own. But last night’s trio took it to a whole new level.

Elena Stikhina is in demand as Tosca, currently shutting between Vienna and Amsterdam (Barrie Kosky’s very different production). Her voice is ideal for the role, displaying amber soft colours in Act 1, but flashes of steel when required – and a steely look too: her reaction when Cavaradossi laughs at her jealousy was priceless. “Vissi d’arte” was lyrical, with no undue histrionics, beautifully paced, the singer very much dictating the conductor (the avuncular Pier Giorgio Morandi) in matters of tempo.

Act 2 was a game of cat and mouse between Stikhina’s Tosca and the Scarpia of Ludovic Tézier, aristocratic, all arched eyebrows and irony. The French baritone inhabits the role, amusing himself with the props – cane, fan, glass of wine – while his rich voice filled the stage in the Te Deum. But the sinister menace was chilling, fondling the fur trim on Tosca’s robe as he laid it across the chaise longue, inhaling Tosca’s scent as he sidled up to her to ask the softest “Ebbene?”

Jonathan Tetelman was making his house role debut, a very different proposition from his last Tosca in Vienna (Martin Kuśej’s radical dystopian thriller at Theater an der Wien). He is the ideal Cavaradossi, his ardent tenor and easy vocal production lending to a sunny “Recondita armonia”. He grandstands on the occasional high note, but when your tenor is that glorious, why not? His Act 2 “Vittoria!” was ringing, leading to a dramatically plausible faint from his exertions. In “E lucevan le stelle” a risky attempt to sing super softly didn’t quite pay off, but he recovered magnificently. No encore was given – you need to earn your stripes here before that privilege is granted – but Tetelman will surely return to sing the role here many times; he is today’s ideal Puccini tenor.

Minor roles are cast from the house’s ensemble, a fine mix of youth – Devin Eatmon’s vivid Spoletta, no caricature – and experience, Wolfgang Bankl and Dan Paul Dumitrescu who amply fill the roles of the Sacristan and Jailer… in all dimensions! Led by Morandi, drawing pungent playing from the orchestra, this was an outstanding performance, with no sense of routine, even in this 663rd outing. Staatsoperndirektor Bogdan Roščić replaces Wallmann’s staging at his peril.