Tosca L.A.
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Urmana, Licitra
Photo by Ken Howard
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By Michael Van Duzer
Divas of the operatic persuasion love to play the title role in Puccini’s Tosca. The passion, the pathos, the chance to play a glamorous diva while singing a memorable score is incredibly seductive. But not every diva is up to the challenge. Many a fine singing-actress has found herself unable to convincingly pull off Tosca’s mercurial moods or conquer the score’s rangy vocal requirements. But Los Angeles Opera had nothing to worry about with their choice of Violeta Urmana in the role.
Urmana, making her Los Angeles Opera debut, sang with emotional abandon and acted the role with theatrical finesse. Although a touch hesitant at her entrance, she quickly warmed and revealed an exquisitely molded soprano of considerable size and warmth. Her early years as a mezzo brought a compelling authority to the lower register that was particularly effective for the role. Her “Vissi d’arte” was a model of vibrantly emotive singing and clarity.
Salvatore Licitra (also a company debut) sang Tosca’s artist/revolutionary lover, Cavaradossi. He, too, seemed a bit unsteady in his first moments, with his “Recondita harmonia” sounding rather dry and tentative. But, by the third act, he was in fine voice and acquitted himself nicely with a longing “E lucevan le stelle.” As a performer, however, he tended to the wooden, and his scenes with Tosca were less effective than his arias. Veteran bass Samuel Ramey used his considerable vocal prowess and presence to ratchet up the drama, making his second act with Tosca the most satisfying portion of the evening. Ramey also brought a welcome sophistication to the villainous Scarpia, making the character much more dimensional.
Director Ian Judge’s production has been seen here many times since its premiere in 1989 and, even though Tosca is only peripherally about reality, it still seems odd to have the period updated to the late Nineteenth Century while characters discuss historical events happening 80 or 90 years earlier. But stranger still was the moment when Cavaradossi wrote his farewell letter with a ballpoint pen. These quibbles aside, Urmana is a singer to see and Tosca, a role in which to see her..
Dorothy Chandler Pavilion November 19--December 18, 2005
Reservations: (213) 972-8001 www.laopera.com.
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