Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Opera Philadelphia’s magnificent concert production of THE DRAMA OF TOSCA meaningfully truncates Puccini’s warhorse

• By drediman
• May 6, 2021
• No Comments

Last night, I ventured down to Philadelphia to attend the opening night performance of Opera Philadelphia’s concert production of The Drama of Tosca at the Mann Center. The Mann seems the ideal space for the opera company’s safe return to in-person performance (following some adventurous and memorable on-demand programming during the pandemic), given the venue’s airy, semi-outdoor architecture and expansive seating capacity. Although the concert has been whittled down to approximately 90 minutes (without an intermission) to focus on the love triangle between the tempestuous Tosca, the heroic Cavaradossi, and the ruthless Scarpia, Francesco Micheli’s adaptation also opens up Puccini’s warhorse to meaningful critical interpretation.

Stringing together the opera’s “greatest hits” – rest assured, all of the key musical moments and passages have been retained, if not chronologically – is the passionately articulate narration of Charlotte Blake Alston. Ms. Alston comments on the opera’s early 19th century plot from today’s vantage point, making a case for the opera in this brave new world we now find ourselves in. Structurally, perhaps the biggest change from Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosais’s original libretto is the decision to close the opera with “Vissi d’arte” – the wrenching aria that typically anchors Act Two – further opening up the opera’s dialogue to include the recent struggles of performing artists at large. It’s a striking moment and the adaptation’s linchpin.

Opera Philadelphia didn’t skimp on the musical forces that power The Drama of Tosca, which features a top-flight principal cast and the largest live orchestra (solidly conducted by Corrado Rovaris) I’ve encountered on this side of the pandemic. Even a sizable adult chorus is utilized, sounding magnificent singing from the Mann’s balcony and giving the chilling Act One closer “Te deum” a thrillingly encompassing sonic treatment (i.e., surround sound). Interestingly, the three leads – soprano Ana María Martínez (Tosca), tenor Brian Jadge (Cavaradossi), and Quinn Kelsey (Scarpia), all in robust voice – register as equals throughout the evening. They also bring the kind of intense specificity you’d expect from a fully staged Tosca, all the while operating within the ingenious meta-theatrical framework of the adaptation.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

THE DRAMA OF TOSCA
Opera / In-person
Opera Philadelphia
1 hour, 30 minutes (without an intermission)
Through May 9