To the Lowry for the Opera North production. It was brilliant all round. What more can I say?
It was interesting to compare the staging with the only other version I’ve seen – in Hannover, where it was set in a Nazi/Stasi/Mussolini-type police state, and the final two acts were run together in an elaborate two-storey office/dungeon set. The Opera North version was also in modern dress but – as a touring production – more modestly staged, with the Pantheon-style dome and oculus turning on their side for the final act. The action was performed under the painting of Mary Magdalene that Cavaradossi was working on – initially eyeless, but later complete, giving a particular poignancy to Tosca’s Vissi d’arte (which is pretty Beckettian anyway when you analyse it). The production emphasised support given to Scarpia and the regime he represented by church and families.
- Tosca – Giselle Allen
- Cavaradossi – Rafael Rojas
- Scarpia – Robert Hayward
(The Merry Widow tonight – that’s bound to be a bit different!)
Aides memoires 