Tosca - English National Opera tickets

Emotional/originality and brilliant vocals

All the above.....good opera to see.

I was genuinely disappointed with this production of Tosca. I had been looking forward to experiencing Puccini’s opera, but unfortunately, many of the directorial and staging choices made it difficult to appreciate the work as intended. Although the performance was advertised in English, several passages were sung in Italian, particularly towards the beginning. While I appreciate that some sections, such as the prayers, may traditionally be performed in Italian, the inconsistency was somewhat confusing. My greatest disappointment, however, was the lack of historical atmosphere. The opera is set in Rome in 1800, yet Tosca’s costume — a beige knitted dress with a black belt — felt entirely out of place. The policemen, dressed in dark leather jackets and trousers, looked more like modern gang members than officers of the period. These choices made it very difficult to feel immersed in the world of the opera. The stage direction was equally puzzling. Throughout the performance, groups of people repeatedly walked back and forth across the stage without any apparent purpose. This was particularly distracting during the scenes set in a church, where one would reasonably expect the congregation to be engaged in prayer or other religious activities. The staging often felt disconnected from the setting and the dramatic events taking place. I was also uncomfortable with the way the scene involving Scarpia's demand that Tosca surrender herself in exchange for Cavaradossi's freedom was portrayed. Rather than conveying the threat and psychological tension of the original scene, the production resorted to unnecessarily explicit physical gestures, including Scarpia removing his trousers and lifting Tosca's skirt. I found this approach crude and excessive, and felt it detracted from the dramatic power of the scene. The set design was another major disappointment. There seemed to be very little relationship between the props and the locations they were supposed to represent. The production used essentially the same bare stage throughout, with hardly any meaningful scenery or background to establish the different settings. The third act was particularly bewildering, with large pieces of stage furniture and props piled together in the centre of the stage, forming what looked like a mound of miscellaneous objects. I struggled to understand the artistic intention behind this arrangement. I understand that contemporary interpretations of classical operas can offer fresh perspectives, and I am not opposed to creative reinterpretations. However, in this instance, the modernisation seemed to come at the expense of the original work's atmosphere, historical context and dramatic integrity. The production offered little in the way of a coherent alternative vision to compensate for what had been lost. Tosca is a powerful opera with a richly defined setting and deeply compelling drama. Sadly, this production did not do it justice. I left feeling that the experience had been a considerable disappointment, and that the staging had distracted far more from Puccini's work than it had contributed to it.