‘Tosca’ at San Diego Opera: A Refreshingly Traditional Production

Tenor Marcelo Puente plays Cavaradossi and soprano Michelle Bradley plays Tosca in San Diego Opera’s 2023 production of “Tosca.” (Courtesy of Karli Cadel)

Commentary

On March 31, I went to see San Diego Opera’s production of “Tosca.” I’ve followed this company’s news and programming for years, but I had never seen one of their productions before. Since I knew several singers in the chorus of “Tosca,” I decided to submit a media inquiry to review the show. I went to the third of four shows, which were on March 25, 28, 31, and April 2. It was performed at the Civic Theater in downtown San Diego, a beautiful venue for performing live arts. I was pleasantly surprised by how traditional and artistic the production was.

“Tosca” is an opera by Giacomo Puccini in three acts, focusing on three main characters. The words are in Italian, so English and Spanish supertitles were used. The setting is Rome during the Napoleonic Era, one hundred years before the opera was written. The three main characters are Tosca, a soprano, Cavaradossi, a tenor, and Scarpia, a baritone. Floria Tosca is a famous opera singer and a woman of great faith. Mario Cavaradossi is a painter and Tosca’s lover. Baron Scarpia is a corrupt official who feigns piety but controls the city with cruelty and lust.

A scene from San Diego Opera’s 2023 production of “Tosca.” (Courtesy of Karli Cadel)

About the Opera

When the opera begins, Cesare Angelotti, an escaped political prisoner, staggers into the Church of Sant’Andrea della Valle. As he hides in the chapel, Cavaradossi enters and continues painting a portrait of Mary Magdalene in the cathedral. As he works, he admits to the church’s Sacristan that he was inspired to paint the saint as a blonde by seeing Marchesa Attavanti praying in the church day after day. Once Cavaradossi is alone, Angelotti reveals his presence to his friend and former co-conspirator. The Marchesa, Angelotti’s sister, left a disguise in the chapel for him, but Cavaradossi also offers him food and a hiding place at his villa. When Tosca arrives, she misconstrues Cavaradossi’s evasive behavior and accuses him of having a tryst with Attavanti. Eventually, he persuades the jealous diva that he loves only her, and they agree to meet at his villa that night. After Tosca leaves, Scarpia arrives in pursuit of Angelotti, who he deduces has escaped with Cavaradossi’s assistance, thanks to the Sacristan’s clues. When Tosca returns, Scarpia uses a fan Angelotti left to make her jealous, knowing she’ll lead him right to the escaped convict.

In Act II, Scarpia is in his palace, scheming to send Cavaradossi to the gallows and lure Tosca into his arms. Unable to find Angelotti at Cavaradossi’s villa, Scarpia’s men arrested the painter, whom they bring to the baron for questioning. He refuses to reveal anything, so Scarpia sends him to the torture chamber in the next room. When Tosca arrives, Scarpia tries to obtain information from her. By now, she knows the truth about Angelotti, but she feigns ignorance, at Cavaradossi’s instruction. As she hears her beloved’s anguished screams from the next room, she is in just as much pain; eventually, she reveals Angelotti’s location to end Cavaradossi’s torture. However, no sooner have they been reunited than Cavaradossi is sentenced to death and dragged from the room. Tosca tries to bargain with Scarpia for her lover’s life, but all the villain wants is her romantic favor. She agrees to surrender to him if he will pardon Cavaradossi and give them both safe conduct out of Rome. As soon as he has signed the orders, Tosca stabs him to death.

Bass-baritone Greer Grimsley plays Scarpia and soprano Michelle Bradley plays Tosca in San Diego Opera’s 2023 production of “Tosca.” (Courtesy of Karli Cadel)

Act III takes place on the prison roof, where Cavaradossi spends his last moment before execution remembering his great love for Tosca. Suddenly, she arrives and tells him what transpired between her and Scarpia. She informs Cavaradossi that his execution will be simulated, so he must pretend to die as they fire at him with blanks. They rejoice over their plans to escape together. Tosca watches victoriously as Cavaradossi collapses before the firing squad. However, when he doesn’t rise, she realizes that Scarpia betrayed her: the bullets were real. As police officers come to arrest Tosca, having discovered Scarpia’s death, she jumps off the battlement to meet her eternal fate.

Beautifully Traditional

I could tell from this production’s promotional material that it would have a fairly traditional setting. At least I knew it wouldn’t be set in 1950s Las Vegas or the 1920s on the Orient Express, but that didn’t guarantee that it would be a traditional production. I was very pleasantly surprised by how true to the original work this production was. The staging was not only traditional but very tasteful. As you can tell from the synopsis, this opera includes serious, mature subject matter. Many scenes could easily be staged indecently, graphically, and lewdly, particularly Scarpia’s pursuit of Tosca. Thankfully, discretion was used in this production. The staging was intense and dramatic but never excessive or obscene, so the beauty of the music was not sullied.

Tenor Marcelo Puente plays Cavaradossi and soprano Michelle Bradley plays Tosca in San Diego Opera’s 2023 production of “Tosca.” (Courtesy of Karli Cadel)

This was one of the most beautiful live productions I’ve ever seen. The sets were amazing. Each act had a different set, and each was equally stunning. Act I was a vast, ornate cathedral; Act II was a lavish salon with opulent decorations and a high ceiling; and Act III was the tiered, forbidden prison rooftop, crowned by an expansive night sky which was dotted with gleaming stars. What impressed me most about the sets was their depth and multiple dimensions. They weren’t just backdrops with open wings on each side. They had layers, walls, windows, doors, and ceilings, creating the strong impression that the areas onstage were just small parts of larger, very real buildings. This illusion was further conveyed by offstage voices, which emphasized the existence of other rooms, halls, and courtyards.

The lighting was extremely effective. It highlighted the scenery beautifully and intensified the emotions of each scene. In Act II, intense red lights pouring onto the stage through a small doorway conveyed the horror of Cavaradossi’s offstage torture without showing anything graphic onstage. The most beautiful lighting was in Act III, as the starry night sky gradually faded into a rosy dawn. The opening of that act is just instrumental music for quite a while, but it was mesmerizing just to look at the beautiful setting as soldiers methodically paced across the stage. The costumes were excellent as well, demonstrating great historical accuracy. All the performers looked very comfortable and convincing in their costumes. My one costuming critique would be Cavaradossi’s unchanged appearance from the end of Act II to the beginning of Act III. After being tortured, Cavaradossi had blood on his face, chest, and shirt; he could have at least cleaned his face before his execution, if nothing else. Also, the soldiers put a white cloth over his head before the shooting, which struck me as looking very odd. The customary blindfold would have made Tosca’s exclamation of how handsome he looked make more sense.

The Musical Performances

The program included an article by opera aficionado Roger Pines called “The Challenges and Rewards of Tosca’s Three Principal Roles.” This scholarly examination of the vocal precision and acting talent the three main roles require was a daring inclusion, assuming these performers met those high standards. In my opinion, the leads didn’t measure up to the standards set by Mr. Pines or the great singers of the past.

Michelle Bradley, who played Tosca, has sung leading soprano roles with major opera companies around the world, including the Metropolitan Opera. She is a very experienced singer with a powerful voice and strong technique. However, Tosca calls for more than a big and loud voice, and she lacked the subtleties which Mr. Pines described, such as “flexibility,” “girlishness,” and “vulnerability.” In fact, the size and weight of her voice, especially in the lower range, sounded more like a mezzo-soprano or alto than a soprano. There’s a decided trend toward prima donnas who have neither the vocal nor physical litheness to convincingly embody many of opera’s famous leading ladies.

A scene from San Diego Opera’s 2023 production of “Tosca.” (Courtesy of Karli Cadel)

Marcelo Puente made his San Diego Opera debut as this production’s Cavaradossi. He has a beautiful voice and great stage presence; he sang and acted the role with excellent technique and drama. However, I couldn’t shake the impression that his vocal timbre is that of a baritone, not a tenor. Greer Grimsley, a very famous veteran of the opera stage, was perfect as the evil Scarpia. His stage presence was unapproachable. At times, his voice sounded a bit rough, but that could be because he is a bass-baritone rather than a baritone.

The four soloist roles were exquisitely executed in terms of staging, singing, and acting. I was especially impressed by the vocal performance of bass-baritone Andrew Craig Brown, who gave the opera a strong start with his dramatic performance as Angelotti. As the Sacristan, baritone Michael Sokol struck the right balance between humor and seriousness at the opening, reminding me of excellent character actors in silent movies. Joel Sorensen provided the only really bright male voice as Spoletta, Scarpia’s sinister character tenor henchman. Bass-baritone DeAndre Simmons was also very effective as an assistant to Scarpia, making his company debut as Sciarrone. The only disappointing soloist was the Shepherd Boy, sung offstage by a soprano at the beginning of Act III. Besides two minor San Diego Opera roles, Abigail Allwein’s performing credits are nothing but musical theater, and her voice sounded like it. I don’t know why Miss Allwein was given this part, since I’m sure many of the sopranos in the chorus could have sung it more classically.

The orchestra for this production was provided by San Diego Symphony. The musicians were phenomenal, which was especially refreshing because so many live orchestras which accompany opera and ballet performances are distractingly off-key. The orchestra was full and rich, playing so accurately under Valerio Galli’s skillful baton that I almost forgot it was live music. The opera chorus was also excellent. Comprised of nine singers in each of the four vocal categories, plus sixteen young singers from the San Diego Children’s Chorus, they did justice to the beauty and grandeur of Puccini’s music.

San Diego Opera has two more productions planned for this season and an exciting program of operas for next season. I highly recommend you go to one of their future productions to support traditional live opera in Southern California, as I intend to!