Puccini's Tosca - Passionate and Spell-Binding

Vancouver Opera’s current production of Puccini’s Tosca is passionate, well-executed and highly atmospheric. The cast and technical team have created a truly moving piece. I often find myself at the opera trying to forget my acting training to focus instead on the music, costumes and set, but Tosca drew me in completely. It was the most enjoyable evening I have spent at the Vancouver Opera yet.

At 6:30pm (I’m not sure if this is exclusive to opening night) Vancouver Opera does this great thing: a preview talk to provide historical context for the plot and production history not necessarily included in the program notes. I managed to miss the preview due to transit delays, but my date filled me in on what I missed.

Again stealing from the press release: “Tosca is set in the year 1800, in Rome, against a backdrop of political turmoil. The painter Mario Cavaradossi and celebrated singer Floria Tosca struggle in vain to escape the evil manipulations of the police chief, Baron Scarpia. Tosca is cherished for its heart-wrenching melodies and filled with treachery, murder and indestructible love.”  The plot isn’t complex, but it is based on a play, La Tosca by Victorien Sardou, which in afterthought is probably one of the reasons I enjoyed it so much. The medium of opera demands large, broad strokes and a simplified plot, but Tosca is supported by a context, depth and internal logic that gives it perhaps more of a dramatic structure than is typical. I found the characters interesting and the dialogue particularly poetic and succinct. I was even glad of the obligatory English surtitles, which I usually find to be more annoying than helpful. I did also love the story of Puccini visiting the locations in which the opera is set and getting the bells timing and distance just right for the sunrise scene. Details like that in the score and the lighting design are what make this production so extremely evocative.

I don’t often manage to sit in a spot where I can see the conductor, but Jonathan Darlington is very expressive and it was a treat to watch him physicalize such an emotive score. His notes in the program went a long way to my understanding why I felt so transported, although the technical musical details are mostly over my head.

The set designed for this particular production will be packed up and reused in future versions. In true Vancouver Opera style the design is economic (well, for an opera) and versatile, creating a lush and lavish atmosphere through strategic placing and remarkable lighting. There is a complete set change during both intermissions, but each of the three locations echo one another in design, creating a cohesive style. There are some great technical notes in the program that I won’t repeat here but I would like to add that the two-level structure not only created a subconscious “us vs them” mentality, but having a segment of the passing street and such a dynamic backdrop adds depth to the historical and geographical context. It draws us in and embeds the story in reality, making everything more textured and more relevant. The lofty arches and space in the ceiling allowed the double levels to breathe without cramping the action and the light coming down in beams through dust was so beautiful: sacred and spacious.

Necessarily, the lighting in this production does a lot of the work, creating dappled light on plain black surfaces to infer brick or cobblestones. Not only is this practical, but it creates a life and texture that a more “naturalistic” set would not. The lighting designer, Gerald King, has created a true masterpiece in this production. The lighting and the music weave together perfectly, enhancing each other so powerfully that the tone of the piece can change in an instant. It’s not subtle, but neither is it jarring. It’s an emotional journey, buoyed up on sound and colour. The lovers are lit in warm light, swells in the melody mirroring the depth of their emotions. Once forgiveness has been bestowed, the tones are frilly and playful, then a cold, blue light and somber dramatic tones for the entrance of Scarpia, the villain. I was swept away.

I noticed that the face of Gordon Hawkins, the baritone Baron Scarpia, was often in shadow. Given how effective the rest of the lighting was, I assumed this was intentional to reflect his dark soul. . . or something. My date, however, remarked that his eyes flashed at appropriate moments and wondered how that had been done. I was going to write more on this, but I’d rather you see it and make up your own mind. Hawkins cuts an imposing figure as Scarpia, but intimidating as he was, I would have liked to have seen more of his motivation. Greed and cruelty always come from somewhere. Scarpia seemed less developed than the lovers, and evil caricatures can so easily tip into comedy.

The soprano Michele Capalbo was captivating as Floria Tosca. Her “bold anger and frantic love” were heartfelt and her voice is rich and strong. The scenes between her and the tenor David Pomeroy as Mario Cavaradossi brought tears to my eyes. Melodramatic plots can tend towards pettiness and triviality, and I often find myself berating characters in my head, but these two performers had such expressive passion that I felt the triumph and tragedy as if they were my own.

The beginning of the second act felt a little cumbersome and the torture scene did not work for me, but Cavaradossi’s victorious speech after hearing the news of Napoleon and Tosca’s trembling rage leading up to the climax were the most powerful moments of the entire piece. Except for Cavaradossi’s lament in act three before he meets Tosca for the final time. Pomeroy’s voice almost broke with emotion. That moment was so real, so immediate and deeply felt that I sat up in my chair and was spellbound for the rest of the piece.

Tosca is playing at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre until 3 November, 2013. Go see it. If you missed the press release, here is some extra incentive: “all patrons who attend the Thursday, October 31 performance of Tosca in costume will receive $10 in “Opera Bucks”, which may be used toward the purchase of a single ticket for any remaining 2013-2014 Vancouver Opera performance.“