Neither shabby nor shocking

I'm happy to report, that after a hiatus of many years, I have had a review of mine published in the press. This time, instead of drama, it is of the opera "Tosca" currently being staged in Bombay at the NCPA; and you can read it below in its entirety (along with comments on it) or in the slightly edited version published in the Times of India, Mumbai, 30 Sept 2010, Page 7.

Neither shabby nor shocking.
by
Jiten S. Merchant

Puccini: “Tosca”
Opera Bergen,
Jamshed Bhabha Theatre, NCPA,
28 Sept 2010.

The musicologist Joseph Kerman called it a “shabby little shocker” but Giacomo Puccini’s “Tosca” has had an assured place in the operatic repertoire. Based on a dramatic vehicle written for the great actress Sarah Bernhardt in the title-role, the opera condenses Sardou’s wordy play into a taut thriller, a potent combination of sex, sadism, political intrigue, religion, love….and Puccini’s glorious music.

The production by Opera Bergen at the NCPA is quite conventional, only once departing significantly from the norm --- at the beginning of Act 3, instead of hearing a shepherd-boy’s voice offstage, we see Tosca confronting her own “ghost”, her innocence forever lost.

Apart from this, director Bruno Bergen Gorski’s interpretation takes no risks. Even the attempted-rape in Act 2 is too polite, with little sexual tension. Some moments miss the point: for instance, arch-villain Scarpia’s entrance is almost funny instead of striking terror; and in the wordless passages, one often finds singers meandering rather than moving purposefully. However, the highlighting of Scarpia’s lustful fantasy of Tosca against the Te Deum sung by a congregation in church, though made too “obvious”, effectively underlines Puccini’s masterful counterpoint of profane versus sacred.

Dirk Hofacker’s sets sometimes make direction difficult, cutting too many corners (literally!) with essential dramatic areas illogically deployed or omitted altogether. For example, the door to the torture chamber in Act 2 is nowhere in sight, making nonsense of Scarpia’s command to open it so Tosca may hear Mario scream. Even so, the decision to place the horrific events of Act 2 in an ornate dining-room instead of the usual study, with a long dining-table becoming the fulcrum of confrontation, is a rewarding choice, though it allows lighting-designer Andreas Just little opportunity to create atmosphere.

Coming to the music: it is a wonder this production succeeds with such a weak prima donna, because soprano Iano Tamar rarely seemed to have what it takes, musically and dramatically, to bring Tosca to operatic life. Though her high notes were powerful (if sometimes effortful) the all-important middle-voice, sustaining much of Puccini’s melodic writing, was clotted and occasionally inaudible. And many key moments were thrown away. Even so, there were flashes of lyrical beauty, most often in Tosca’s lament Vissi d’arte and the tender leavetaking of her lover Mario in Act 3.

Speaking of whom, tenor Gustavo Porta may not have the most beautiful voice; but he more than compensates with sheer musicality. The opening Recondita armonia was a little reined-in but he opened-up later to make a truly ardent Mario, with ravishing phrasing and heroic passion, though his acting was a little four-square.

Not so Anooshah Golesorkhi, offering an insightful psychological portrait of Scarpia, revealing the man beneath the monster. This world-class baritone, though slightly strained by the role’s low extremes, took the high notes comfortably in his stride, with superb rendering of musical line and meaning of words.

Two of the supporting cast merit mention: Nika Guliashvili’s robust-voiced Angelotti and Orest Pislariu’s Sacristan --- a complete musico-dramatic characterisation instead of the customary caricature.

All of the above were held together in the solid super-structure created by conductor Anne Randine Overby. Though the opening was somewhat sluggish; and there were lapses of co-ordination between stage and pit (most damagingly with the offstage chorus in Act 2), Ms Overby led a generally thrilling performance, conveying both the passion and poetry in Puccini’s score.

And the Symphony Orchestra of India (augmented by musicians from Opera Bergen) showed itself more than capable of fulfilling the opera’s demands.