Tosca, Metropolitan Opera HD Live, Nov. 9 2013

We’ve seen this Tosca before in the HD Live series, but that was four years ago, beyond the scope of these commentaries. This was the controversial Luc Bondy production, successor to the much-loved (at least by the audience), grandiose Franco Zeffirelli production.

Act 1 takes place in the church of Sant’Andrea del Valle. We saw what looked like the inside of a church nearing completion. Walls of dark gray brick rose out of sight, so the basic structure of the church was complete, but it had not yet been decorated with all of the artwork so characteristic of Italian churches. Cavaradossi was beginning that task, painting a picture of Mary Magdalene on what would turn out to be paper. The nave of the church, where pews would later be installed, was completely bare except for some bits of broken rock or brick. A few folding chairs were off to one side.

Scarpia’s office, the setting for Act 2, was similarly plain, with flat plaster walls and large windows. Three prostitutes in R-rated costumes lounged on 1950s-modern sofas and occasionally pawed at Scarpia. This made no sense at all. Scarpia told us that he seeks violent sexual conquest; he’s hardly the kind of guy to pay for it.

The top of the Castel Sant'Angelo, for Act 3, seemed to be an echo of the church of Act 1, being built out of dark gray brick. The center of the stage was occupied by a walkway; to the right, the building receded into the distance with a structure on top of it, with stairs leading to its upper reaches. Part of that structure formed a 90° angle in which Cavaradossi positioned himself for the execution.

Our cast:
Tosca: Patricia Racette
Cavaradossi: Roberto Alagna
Scarpia: George Gagnidze
Angelotti: Richard Bernstein
Sacristan: John Del Carlo
Conductor: Riccardo Frizza
Production: Luc Bondy

Patricia Racette has had a busy autumn. She was Marguerite in Mefistofele and stepped in at the last minute to learn the role of Dolores Claiborne for the world-premiere production. (And she’ll be back in San Francisco in June for Madama Butterfly and Show Boat.) She sang well enough but not astoundingly so. Roberto Alagna also sang well, but didn’t budge my meter as far as Marcelo Alvarez did in the previous broadcast. George Gagnidze’s Scarpia was even more impressive than in that previous broadcast. It was a production worth seeing the encore of, but with no one to come with me, it was easy to opt out of. A beta.