A too-real Tosca from Arnaud Bernard in Prague

By Frank Kuznik, 31 January 2017

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“Czech audiences need no reminding of what life was like during four decades of communist occupation”

Reviewed at National Theatre (Národní divadlo), Prague on 28 January 2017

Puccini, Tosca

Prague National Theatre Opera

Andreas Sebastian Weiser, Conductor

David Švec, Conductor

Arnaud Bernard, Director, Costume Designer

Camille Dugas, Set Designer

Barbara Haveman, Floria Tosca

Peter Berger, Mario Cavaradossi

Jiří Sulženko, Baron Scarpia

Prague State Opera Orchestra

Prague State Opera Chorus

Kühn Children's Choir

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Timo Riihonen and Ester Pavlů stand out in a strong cast which carries Andreas Homoki's revised version of Wagner's final opera.

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Smetana in Prague is never likely to be less than a delight, and the National Theatre assembles a fine cast for a revival of Alice Nellis' production of his greatest opera.

****1

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David Karlin, 15th January

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The director drains the life out of an impassioned opera with a staging devoid of authenticity and ideas.

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Frank Kuznik

Frank Kuznik is the former Editor-in-Chief and Culture Editor of The Prague Post, Central Europe’s premier English-language weekly newspaper. He currently divides his time between Prague and his hometown in the US, Cleveland, where he covers northeast Ohio's dynamic classical music scene. In Prague he is an habitué of the Rudolfinum, National Theater, State Opera and other storied classical music venues, and an unabashed fan of Czech music.