It was drama from curtain up, on Thursday evening at the Hull New Theatre, when Opera North’s Tosca came to town, thrilling us with the sight of escaped political prisoner, Cesare Angelotti (a very brave Callum Thorpe), dropping from on high via a rope, on to the stage and, with split-second timing, the rope falling unattached to the floor. Phew!
Aided and abetted by wonderfully atmospheric music played by the talented members of the Orchestra of Opera North, the drama never let up throughout a longish evening of opera.
Angelotti’s entrance, through a beautifully decorated cupola in a family chapel, finds him in the company of his friend, artist, Mario Cavaradossi (Mykhailo Malafii), who gives him food and the key to his villa, advising him to hide in a secret chamber down a well in the garden.
Mario is putting the finishing touches to a portrait of the Madonna, using the prisoner’s blonde-haired, blue-eyed sister as his model. The sister had already secreted clothing for her brother in the chapel.
Enter singer Floria Tosca (Giselle Allen), Mario’s madly jealous lover. Seeing the painting, she accuses her lover of being unfaithful, but they soon kiss and make up. In quite amusing scenes, he eventually gets Tosca to leave and then joins the escapee and both head for his villa.
The Chief of Police, Baron Scarpia (Robert Hayward), besotted with Tosca, plays on her jealousy, making her believe Mario has been unfaithful. Full of rage, she reveals the whereabouts of her lover’s villa, though no details of the well, and Scarpia sends his thugs there to apprehend the two.
Unable to find Angelotti, the henchmen arrest and torture Mario, on Scarpia’s orders.
Tosca is beside herself and only reveals the prisoner’s secret hiding place, after watching – via Scarpia’s laptop – her beau being tortured.
The one thing Tosca won’t give the hateful Police Chief, is her body, and she devises a way to try to save not only herself, but her lover.
Sung in Italian, with English translation on large screens, the story is very easy to follow, for those who aren’t familiar with Puccini’s work – me, for one.
The stage setting didn’t change too much and didn’t need to; the main action being inside the chapel. A prison cell and Scarpia’s bedroom also featured.
A much darker stage setting greeted us when the curtain rose after quite a lengthy second interval. But even though subsequent events were dark and could have been depressing, the excitement in the packed theatre was palpable.
It didn’t take a genius to work out the ending, but, my goodness, what an ending when it did come.
The main characters’ magnificent singing voices dripped with emotion and angst in this age-old opera that first premiered in Rome in 1900.
However, I’m sure Tosca’s composer, Puccini, would have approved of Opera North’s cheeky modern touches such as Scarpia’s laptop and his thugs talking into their wrist mics.
All in all, a very enjoyable evening’s entertainment by highly trained performers who thoroughly deserved the prolonged ovation from an appreciative audience, reluctant to see the final curtain come down.
Presented by Opera North
The Cunning Little Vixen, Friday, March 31st; Tosca, Saturday, April 1st, 2023, 7pm. Tickets from £16. Call (01482) 300306 or visit www.hulltheatres.co.uk
Music by Giacomo Puccini, conducted by Garry Walker
Director: Edward Dick
Sung in Italian with English subtitles
Reviewer: Jackie Foottit
Reviewed: 30th March 2023
North West End UK Rating: ★★★★