To celebrate 125 years since the first ever performance, which took place on 14 January
1900 at the Costanzi theatre, the Rome opera has staged a series of performances of
Tosca, the most Roman opera of all.
A truly stellar cast was deployed in the March performances, with the presence in the three
main roles of Anna Netrebko, Yusif Eyvazov, Amartuvshin Enkbath and the conduction of
Maestro Daniel Oren, the today reference interpreter of Puccini’s masterpiece, since the
times of the legendary Roman representations of 1990 with Pavarotti, Kabaivanska and
Wixell.
The proposed stage setup is that of the very first performance, reconstructed on the basis
of the original sketches with the scenes and costumes designed by Adolf Hohenstein.
All the ingredients were therefore there for an evening destined to remain in the annals of
theatre. And so it was; the sold-out theater and fans in front of the ticket office with signs
“buy tickets for me and my family”, an audience of melomaniac who came from all over
Italy in religious silence, the applause that erupts when the Diva appears on stage, after
“Mario, Mario”, the tradition thunderous applauses, starting from the ovation for
“Recondita armonia” sung by Eyvazov with great identification and interminable high
notes, until to the exhausting request for an encore for the “vissi d’arte”, where Netrebko
delves into a very sustained pianissimi and masterful endless filati. Yes, because “alla
cantata non manca ancor la Diva“. After a first act in which jealousy prevails over the
sensuality of the woman in love, it is in the second act, in the clash with Scarpia, that Anna
gives her best, easily dominating the enormous vocal difficulties of the part, and moving on
stage like a wounded tiger until the killing of the Baron and the subsequent staging of
candelabra and crucifix, finally acted as Puccini and his librettists wanted. In the third act,
Netrebko is always magnificent and awesome, and the high C of the “lama” succeeds
perfectly and without any effort, unlike what regularly happened to poor Renata Tebaldi. In
short, a Tosca that we will remember for a long time Yusif Eyvazov‘s Cavaradossi is winner scenically and vocally; this tenor, who sometimes plays exaggerating with the high confidence of his acute register, is improving from performance to performance his interpretative view, managing to intelligently put himself into the role of the character, certainly benefiting from the chemistry with his partner on the scene.
The Mongolian Amartuvshin Enkbath is the most beautiful baritone voice of the opera scene, the clear heir of Renato Bruson and therefore his Scarpia is sung very well.
Logically, his non-Italian provenance does not allow him to get to grips with such a
complex character, particularly in the “canto di conversazione” which is fundamental in
Puccini, but it is nevertheless an important performance. Also excellent are Domenico
Colaianni’s Sacristan, performed according to the tradition, Saverio Fiore’s Spoletta and
Gabriele Sagone‘s Angelotti.
The true deus ex machina of the evening is Daniel Oren, one of the last conductors of the
great Italian tradition, also a singer and a great vocal expert. His Tosca is a miracle of perfection for the beauty of the gesture, the tempos, the colors and the dramaturgical sense of Puccini’s masterpiece. In this sense, the Te Deum and the dawn of Rome that opens the third act are exemplary in beauty, despite a small incident of a horn. In accompanying the singers, Oren reveals himself to be a true master, allowing the protagonists to best express their vocal potential while respecting the author’s instructions.
The success of the most famous arias has already been mentioned.
At the end of the evening, there was a jubilation from the audience, with shouts addressed
to the performers such as “Anna, Roma ti ama”, throwing flowers onto the stage and endless ovations even with the house lights on. All we can do is take note of the success, the satisfaction and joy of the heterogeneous audience in the room. “Torniamo all’antico e sarà un progresso”, “Let’s go back to the old and it will be a progress”, said Verdi in a famous letter. What will be the future of opera?
While the massacre of Norma was being staged in Vienna, set in a modern Madonna
ceramic factory and with a protagonist totally unrelated to Belcanto, Rome responded with
an evening “like the old days”, with a much-loved opera, a great Diva, a tenor with acuti,
and the same staging that Puccini had seen. Who will win the challenge?
CAST
Floria Tosca – Anna Netrebko
Mario Cavaradossi – Yusif Eyvazov
Barone Scarpia – Amartuvshin Enkbath
Cesare Angelotti – Gabriele Sagona
Sagrestano – Domenico Colaianni
Spoletta – Saverio Fiore
Sciarrone – Leo Paul Chiarot
CONDUCTOR
Daniel Oren
DIRECTOR
Alessandro Talevi
Chorus Master Ciro Visco
Set Designer Adolf Hohenstein
Reconstructet by Carlo Savi
Costume Designer Adolf Hohenstein
Reconstructet by Anna Biagiotti
Lighting Designer Vinicio Cheli
