Tosca, Erkel Theatre Budapest
Wednesday 29th May 2019
This was a really first-rate traditional performance of Tosca that was as enjoyable and good as anything I have seen recently. Perhaps surprisingly to some (!), I really enjoyed and appreciated the production’s style. Nothing got in the way of telling the story (which was very well done by all concerned – but more of this later) and there was great rhythmic and dramatic drive and verve form the opening chord to the enjoyably melodramatic finale. I went with a very good friend of mine, Glenda Hughes who wanted to experience opera for the first time and, truly, it could not have been better. It was the best possible introduction to opera and I know I made the right choice of work too, with it being my introduction to opera when I was 15 and saw Domingo as Cavaradossi in his debut at Covent Garden. Those, of course, were the days when he was still a tenor!
Before getting to the performance, I must say how excellent the programme – not just because all the articles and summaries in Hungarian were also in English but because the quality of what was written was so good and interesting. Rather different from the programmes in the Berlin opera house where you get a plot summary (not nearly as full as here) and that’s it!
The first Act set was…as expected – although it did strike me as being quite plain for a Catholic church but intelligent use was made of the stage – although having the procession at the climax passing across the middle rear of the stage and behind a barred area, while perhaps being accurate in terms of actual location, did mean the that that stunning finale did not have quite the visual impact that it could have done. Musically though, it was wonderful – and this setting did mean that Scarpia had the stage to himself and was rightly the dramatic focus at the end rather than being swallowed up in an enormous procession as happened, I recall, in the famous Zeffirelli Covent Garden production. I did wonder if the dramatic effect would have been made more emphatic if he had gone up some of the steps that led to Madonna portrait Cavaradossi was working on and which is such a crucial plot device – in fact, standing right beside it might have been a good idea even.
In the second Act the cavernous rooms of Scarpia threw emphasis on the performers and I liked the false ceiling grid of wooden beams which subtly suggested a prison. In the final act, the lighting on the backdrop (some slight wrinkles on one side though) evoking the breaking of dawn as beautifully and subtly done – and the circular tower top on the left did recall the actual roof of San’ Angelo – as far as I can recall it from a distance across the Tiber when I was in Rome many moons ago.
The performance under veteran Adam Medveczky was thrilling and effectively paced. The orchestra (of course) was superb – rich and vibrant and the steady pace chosen by the conductor was highly effective, particularly in the grim grandeur of the opening ‘Scarpia’ chords. The chorus was rich-toned and effective, well supported by the children’s chorus as well; I wonder how many of those have gone on to become professionals…
The smaller parts – Spoletta, the Sacristan (not irritatingly ‘funny’ with grotesque mugging as often can happen) and Scarpia’s henchmen were well done. These henchmen could have been made more of I felt – a bit more darkness perhaps in the performance and staging, but this was not an issue of any significance.
But now onto the main roles. As Cavaradossi, Mavlyanov Najmiddin had power when needed (an excellent ‘Vittoria, vittoria’) as well as gentle sweetness for the lyrical love duets. The final duet was particularly fine and I felt his voice had really warmed up and bloomed as the evening progressed. As Tosca, local favourite Eszter Sumegi was very good, capturing the many facets of this character but quite subtly. At times I feel singers in this role feel they have to go to 10’s on the range of emotional situations the character has to evoke– the furiously jealous diva, the adoring lover, the mocking strong woman who knows her own mind – but here while all these crucial aspects were very well done, there was a refreshing subtlety about how they were achieved –and in a work such as this which is not, shall we say, the subtlest drama in the repertoire, this was an intelligently refreshing approach.
As Scarpia, Anatolij Fokanov rose superbly to the role. He, like Sumegi, did not feel the need to be a cackling villain and was all the more threatening for that. He also knew the value of stillness on stage which made the climax of Act 1 in particular, highly effective. His voice was interesting – powerful enough to be heard over all at the end of Act One but with a dulcet sweetness in Act Two when trying to seduce Tosca. The range and timbre of the voice was interesting; at times I was sure he was essentially a bass with a good top that was naturally released and not pushed or forced, then at others, I was sure he was a baritone with a strong bass-like lower register. I suppose the answer is that he’s a bass-baritone but with the best qualities of both at the extremities of his register.
So, a wonderful evening and VERY glad that this was Glenda Hughes’s first experience of opera – and I hope that she has been really bitten by the bug.