Tosca at the Costanzi: a postcard from Rome

Should anyone wonder why the Teatro Costanzi is showing Puccini's Tosca three times this year – naturally already a constant title in the theatre’s billboard as the story is set in Rome – it’s not due to any lack of programming ideas. This year marks the 125th anniversary of the opera's premiere in Rome in this very theatre. Moreover, the first performance of this run of Tosca fell on the very day of the premiere, the 14th January 1900. The importance of this event granted the presence of the Italian President Sergio Mattarella and the unveiling of a commemorative plaque.

Directed by Alessandro Talevi, the production is actually a revival of the first staging, based on the original sets and costumes by Adolf Hohenstein, recreated respectively by Carlo Savi and Anna Biagiotti. There is of course a special pleasure in watching this beautiful, philological staging of a great opera classic, which gives a plain reading of the text, with no modern or distracting interpretations. Such a choice, though, for such a famous opera is a double-edged sword: the spotlight falls hard on the singing, with the pressure, as always happens in these cases, of an extremely well known repertoire at the back of the minds of the audience. Vinicio Cheli's lighting is rather static and not very exciting, but this is probably intended as functional to a more “classic” type of staging.

Perhaps due to the emotion of the evening, the show started on uncertain vocal ground, gaining more strength in the second and third acts. As Cavaradossi, tenor Gregory Kunde's “Recondita armonia” didn’t really impress, with the orchestra competing with the voice for attention. The brief appearance of Luciano Leoni's Angelotti, with his assured bass and presence, was a small highlight of the first act. Likewise, the comic counterpoint of the Sacristan, played by Domenico Colaianni, provided the best acting of the evening.

Saioa Hernández was a good Tosca, with a full voice to master the register of the role. Baritone Gevorg Hakobian as Scarpia introduced himself with a strong vocal presence; his tone, though, didn’t change throughout the evening, resulting in a flat interpretation of the role. Tosca’s “Vissi d’arte” and Cavaradossi’s “E lucean le stelle” were flawlessly sung, as if all the focus of the singers went into these famous showpieces.

Michele Mariotti, the Music Director here, confidently led the Orchestra del Teatro dell’Opera, which shone from the loudest moments like the Te Deum to the softest ones like the clarinet solo in the third act. The chorus directed by Ciro Visco was equally very good.

The weakest element of the evening was the acting, both during the recitatives and the duets. A choice of slower tempi for the recitatives didn’t convey much sense of passion, urgency or turmoil which is such a distinctive mark of Tosca. At the same time, a lack of attention on the director’s side towards the libretto often resulted in awkward mismatches between the words of the singers and their actions on stage, the most evident being Scarpia declaring his attraction for Tosca while standing still, detached and with folded arms.

Tosca’s story has all the colours in the spectrum of love: brotherly love, religious love, sentimental love, political passion, sensual passion, lust. Puccini's score powerfully conveys these colours, but you need sensitive acting and phrasing for that picture to be complete. This show was like a pretty postcard of Tosca: good to give you an idea of the place if you haven’t been there before, but not enough to bring that place alive.