Opera Pacific's Tosca
By Michael Van Duzer
What is it that makes Puccini’s Tosca so popular? After all, many critics are completely immune to the opera’s charms (Shaw called it a “shabby little shocker”). But audiences adore its pungent blend of romance, melodrama, and top-drawer Puccini music. And there is, of course, the schadenfreude factor. Only Macbeth boasts more stories of theatrical disaster than Tosca. And it is, admittedly, difficult to completely banish apocryphal Tosca tales of ill-rehearsed firing squads and bouncing sopranos from your mind as you enter the theatre. But popularity trumps an unlucky reputation, and Tosca is never far from the any opera house’s repertoire which is, no doubt, why Opera Pacific chose it to open their 20th Anniversary Season.
Fortunately the closest thing to a disaster in Orange County was the indisposition of the original tenor, leaving the audience to focus on the unfolding drama of the tempestuous diva Floria Tosca and the deadly triangle into which she is drawn. As the titular heroine, Doina Dimitriu appears to have all the right stuff: beauty, style, and an expressive, spinto soprano. But much of her dramatic effectiveness was undermined by a need to keep her eyes on the conductor. In moments of stillness, like the “Vissi d’arte”, she was centered and convincing, but the love scenes were another matter, as she kept a distracting focus on the pit.
Cesar Hernandez, the replacement Cavaradossi, brought the looks and timbre of a young Domingo, without the passionate acting and ringing top. Richard Paul Fink focused on Scarpia’s rapacious brutality, deemphasizing the character’s elegance. Yet he was in full command of the stage both vocally or dramatically. Andrew Fernando brought his usual vivacity to the role of the Sacristan, while In Joon Jang and John Atkins were effective as Scarpia’s henchmen.
John Lehmeyer’s costumes were extraordinarily rich and detailed. They worked beautiful symmetry with James T. Sales’ lighting to create the mood and look of Napoleonic Italy. Unfortunately Boyd Ostroff’s sets (from the Opera Company of Philadelphia) were clunky and unattractive, particularly in Act I. Leaving doors off the church robbed Tosca of a true entrance, and the placement of the incredibly steep scaffolding in front of Cavaradossi’s painting forced everyone to upstage themselves throughout the act. Director Garnett Bruce handled the blocking efficiently, and Tosca’s jump (by a stuntwoman) was a thrilling effect.
November 15-20, 2005 Orange County Performing Arts Center 714 556-2787 or www.opac.org
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