Tosca, an immortal tale of love
2007-05-14 14:47
Daniel E Dercksen
Cape Town - If ever there was an ideal opportunity to experience opera at its finest and be seduced by the magic of this art form, it's Cape Town Opera's staging of Giacomo Puccini's Tosca.
This is spectacle at its most lavish; melodrama that is majestic; and powerful music lusciously performed with vigour.
It's a satisfying dose for ardent opera buffs, and a lethal injection for beginners who will undoubtedly place opera on their entertainment menu.
You don't have to be a fan of opera to succumb to the impact of its delivery, and the power of its story.
Besides the rich libretto by Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica, combined with Puccini's glorious music, it is understandable why Tosca has been enjoying success since its inception in 1900.
Tosca is an intimate opera that speaks to hearts and souls of lovers; it tells of a flawed love, emotions built on imperfect notions.
Our hero loves too much and has to suffer the consequences; our villain's lustful appetite taints the purity of love and shows how excessive affection can become poisonous.
Villainous Scarpia
The romantic allure is bewitching, making it ideal entertainment for anyone who has ever loved, been in love, or hopelessly intoxicated by first love.
There is something of all of us in the impassioned opera diva and the villainous Scarpia; they both represent our desperate need to conquer the power of love.
In it's universal message audiences of all ages can relate to someone who is willing to die for love, empathise with emotional abuse and physical torture, and loath the monstrous behaviour of a power hungry tyrant.
Francesca Patanè is an absolute delight in the role of Tosca; she offers a unique quality that is reminiscent of Callas in voice and stature.
It is not an easy role to conquer; Patanè does it with ease and dominates with pleasure.
There is fury in her jealous rage, and passion in her desperate cries of suffering.
Her entrance at the curtain call underlined her status as a full-blooded opera diva who is subservient to the music and her audience; it was only after the roaring applause from a standing ovation that she stepped out of her character and showered the audience with her radiant personality.
Although not as villainous and despicable as one hopes the character of Scarpia to be, Fikile Mvinjelwa impresses with a powerful presence.
All is in the detail
Spanish tenor Gustavo Casanova is charming in the role of a man trapped between love and duty; he delivers with gusto and a sincere passion.
With this production director Angelo Gobbato proves that it is all in the detail, at times allowing a scarf as a weapon of seduction and manipulation, or the villain using a sealed envelope to display his authority.
Gobbato understands the music, allowing it to speak for itself and carry the weight of the story; he also challenges normal conventions by having the diva deliver one of the world's most famous arias lying down.
Under the baton of Francisco Bonnin, conducting the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra, Puccini's sumptuous music soars triumphantly.
Immortal tale of love
Add to this the Cape Town Opera Voice of the Nation Chorus, with Alexander Fokkens as guest chorus master, and you have a winner.
This immortal tale of love, seduction, abuse and ultimate betrayal resonates through all cultures.
It is a powerful all-in-one package neatly wrapped in a glorious music score, and a powerful libretto that offers food for thought.
Tosca is performed at the Artscape Opera House on May 15, 18 and 23 at 20:00, with a matinee performance at 15:00 on 20 May.
- News24