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by Giacomo Puccini, directed by Paul Curran

Canadian Opera Company, Four Seasons Centre, Toronto

January 25-February 25, 2012

“Pieczonka Triumphs as Tosca”

Tosca, directed by Paul Curran with sets and costumes by Kevin Knight is the first production created for the Four Seasons Centre to be revived there.  When it premiered in 2008, I noted certain practical problems with the design and these still remain.  Fortunately, the production (seen January 25) now has a stronger cast than it did then.

Most COC patrons will simply be happy that Curran’s Tosca is a “traditional” production and does not take place inside a black box as in Robert Carsen’s Iphigénie en Tauride or set all locations inside a gentlemen’s club as in Christopher Alden’s Rigoletto earlier this season.  Yet, Curran’s Tosca is filled with minor oddities that are not so important individually but add up to suggest an important lack of attention to detail.

For Act 1, Knight’s recreation the church of Sant’Andrea della Valle in Rome is majestic, but for the finale the chapel walls recede just so the audience has a better look at the assembled chorus.  Why go to the trouble of creating a realistic set if you are going to compromise the realism with non-realistic retracting walls?  In term of direction, in Act 1 characters are constantly having to kick objects out of the way to walk about, including such things a votive candles and Tosca’s purse and shawl.  I can understand the Sacristan’s kicking candles out of the way as a comic gesture undermining his piety, but no self-respecting fashion-conscious singer like Tosca would ever set her purse and shawl on the floor in the first place much less push them out of the way with her foot.  A chair on stage would be a simple solution.

In Act 2, Knight creates an opulent set for the villainous Baron Scarpia’s headquarters in the Palazzo Farnese.  The secret padded torture chamber behind an ornate highboy may be a fun touch but that “fun” is too closely related to the aesthetic pulp novels rather than high drama.  In 2008 we had to cringe as we watched Eszter Sümegi struggle with the heavy Empire gown and overdress Knight had burdened her with.  One might have thought the director and designer would have noticed the problem.  But no--now Adrianne Pieczonka has to try to move and act in a gown that will allow her move only if she hitches up the front of the dress. Moving backwards or turning around require kicking her train out of the way.  At one point Pieczonka could barely get up from a kneeling position because there was no way to stand up without standing on her overlong gown.  It’s a basic tent of costume design that costumes should accentuate movement and acting, not inhibit them, but that’s exactly what Knight’s costuming does here.  A look at paintings of Empire-period gowns shows that the material Knight has chosen is too heavy and that the front hem is too long.  Artists, like dancers, had an even shorter hem just above the ankles for the obvious reason of facilitating movement.  If Curran is committed to Knight’s design, then his blocking should make it easier, not harder, for the singer to move.  She should shed the encumbrance of her overdress as soon as possible, not halfway through the act.

In Act 3, Knight’s design of Cavaradossi’s “cell” makes no sense since troops must march through it to change the guard.  We are told that dawn is breaking, but lighting designer David Martin Jacques leaves the cyclorama pitch black.  This makes the outdoor prison look more like an interior and the parapet of the wall Tosca jumps of look more like the side of a cistern.  Added up all these details suggest that Curran and his team have simply not put enough thought into staging the action--yet again.

The music-making, however, is what saves the show.  Adrianne Pieczonka gives a radiant performance in the title role.  It’s a tribute to her artistry that that can so completely alter her style to suit the Italian tradition after such a long association with the Germanic.  She has softened her tone and emphasized the fluidity of her lines that Italian with all of its open syllables makes possible.  Dramatically, she has the full measure of the role and moves Tosca from the vivacious but superficial creature we first meet to a woman sobered by her encounter with evil in Act 2 finally to rebel inspired to heroism and self-martyrdom. 

As her lover Mario Cavaradossi, Uruguayan tenor Carlo Ventre has a full, Italianate voice and enormous lung-power.  He also overuses the Italian trick of a sob as entry.  Listening to him with eye closed one admires his expression and power.  With eyes open, one is surprised to find his face virtually expressionless.  He habit of looking downward that keeps his eye in shadow doesn’t help.  To create a stage presence that matches his vocal prowess, he really needs coaching in movement, posture and gesture on stage so that he can more fully connect with the audience.  Readers should note that Pieczonka and Ventre alternate with Julie Makerov and Brandon Jovanovich in these roles and should check the COC website for their schedule.)

Mark Delevan is excellent as the villainous Baron Scarpia.  He affects a personal fastidiousness that only heightens our sense of his unscrupulousness.  The warmth and power of his baritone elicit a complex response by making this personification of evil so vocally attractive.  In smaller roles, Peter Strummer sings well and provides a healthy dose of humour as the Sacristan to serve as a foil for the tension in Act 1.  Christian Van Horn, as Angelotti, the escaped prisoner that Cavaradossi harbours, has a booming but velvety bass voice I would like to hear in a larger role.  Tenor David Cangelosi makes much more of the role of Scarpia’s henchman Spoletta than I’ve seen before.  Like a gang member he seems to derive power and bravado from his association with Scarpia and his group of thugs, but his individual cowardice is plain when he relates his failed attempt to catch Angelotti and quivers in anticipation of Scarpia’s rage.      

Under conductor Paolo Carignani, the COC Orchestra played with striking unity, with the brass section being particularly impressive.  For the first time in hearing this opera live, I noticed a real interplay between Puccini’s frequent offstage music and the playing in the pit.  This is especially effective in Act 2 where the beauty of the cantata Tosca is singing offstage contrasts with the ugly doings in Scarpia’s office. 

If the direction and design showed as much attention to detail as the music-making, this Tosca would be a triumph.  As it is, we have to see primarily as a showcase for a great Canadian artist as she moves so confidently into new repertory.                         

©Christopher Hoile

Note: This review is a Stage Door exclusive.

Photo: Mark Delavan and Adrianne Pieczonka. ©2012 Michael Cooper.

For tickets, visit www.coc.ca.