Tosca opera complete full#
Both men provided valuable comic relief in this otherwise dark drama, with Berry getting a big laugh for his reaction to the disguise, and Scollin taking full advantage of a gangly frame to appear largely arms and legs, even in his robes.Īrgentinian tenor Thiago Arancam strode in looking every inch the romantic artist Cavaradossi, with thick, curly hair that required a quick swipe of the hand in even his direst moments. We are quickly introduced to Cavaradossi’s friend, the escaped political prisoner Angelotti (Pittsburgh Opera Resident Artist Andy Berry), who is seeking the disguise left for him in the chapel by his sister, as well former Resident Artist Matthew Scollin’s Sacristan. The curtain opened to reveal a church interior with a small altar on stage left, and half dozen stairs on stage right leading to the platform with painter Cavaradossi’s portrait of the Attavanti, the bannisters covered with charcoal cartoons of her face that will fuel Tosca’s fire. Conductor Antony Walker, in his twelfth season leading the Pittsburgh Opera Orchestra, was in complete command from the opening crashing chords of Scarpia’s theme, and secured an especially sensitive performance from the brass section, which cues so many crucial moments in the story. I would love to hear her at the Met, where she debuted last season as Liù her voice has the kind of weight and force that should really make an impact in that vast hall, and the kind of beauty that should fill seats.ĭirector Garnett Bruce’s production, which opens the Pittsburgh Opera’s 79th season, is entirely traditional, right down to the classic red velvet and brocade armor that has weighed down countless divas singing “Vissi d’arte.” Erocle Sormani’s sets are relatively spare, with the details of the interiors being largely conveyed through painted backdrops, until he and lighting designer Andrew David Ostrowski (who also worked on Pittsburgh Opera’s inspired 1950’s Hollywood Barber of Seville a few seasons ago) pull out all the stops in Act three. Then for good measure, late in the third act, just in case anyone thought all she brought were gorgeous big notes, she spun out a lovely, heartbreaking pianissimo that would have made Montserrat Caballé proud. I got the sense in Act one that the she needed only the slightest tap on the accelerator to fill the Benedum Auditorium with her rich, full sound, and couldn’t wait to air it out in the second act. Miss Crocetto’s instrument is simply huge. From her opening offstage cries to her final pledge to justify herself before God, every vocal inflection and gesture was deeply considered to convey the passion, piety, fear, and rage Tosca experiences moment to moment in this rapidly paced drama.
Well, maybe just a little, when she shook with visible relief while taking her curtain call, a reminder to the audience that her performance was nowhere near as easy as she had made it look. If that last minute opportunity to portray Verdi’s final great heroine interfered with her preparation for perhaps Puccini’s most dramatically demanding role, she never let it show. While performing at Glimmerglass in upstate New York late this summer, she got the call as a late replacement for the Washington National Opera’s “Aida,” which she squeezed in just prior to her triumphant role debut last night as Tosca with the Pittsburgh Opera.
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