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Karita Mattila, Marcelo Alvarez, and George Gagnidze star in this Metropolitan Opera production of the Puccini opera conducted by Joseph Colaneri and directed by Luc Bondy.
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38 of 41 people found the following review helpful
Tosca's opening night for the 2009 season at the Met became a rather infamous event. Booing has been at the Met before but not quite that ferocious yet, especially not for opening night. For this particular telecast the production team did not bow.
I was not convinced by Karita Mattila's Tosca. I don't see an innocent highly catholic woman in her acting, nor does her voice have the sweet innocence of Tosca. She has a powerful and wonderful voice, but I don't think it matches the timbre for a Tosca. I have heard her in quite a few more powerful roles which she's been perfect for, so this was a disappointment.
Marcelo Alvarez's Mario was a much more successful role in this performance. Brave, confident, in love, and later heartbroken, sympathetic, and tragic. His voice was always there and never faltering. If anything, I found his performance a little on the melodramatic side.
George Gognidze's Scarpia is by far the most successful role in this performance. His voice is so sinister when he speaks, and his creepy smile throughout is enough to send chills through anyone's spines. It's only his second time at the Met apparently, but I hope that we see more of him not only at the Met but at other great opera houses around the world. He's a wonderful talent, and in the backstage interviews he's also quite a sweet man, like looking and listening to an entirely different person; the true sign of a talented actor.
The director Luc Bondy seems to be unaware of what Verismo theater is. It is realistic, meant to have three-dimensional characters with reasons for actions and gestures. He himself used the word "stupid" when describing the libretto to Tosca. To quote him: "It's nothing special. It's opera." Therefore by his own admission, he did not take Tosca seriously, nor its libretto, and perhaps not even opera as a whole. For this, I do not see why he decided to take this job. For money? Attention? In any case, it gives us no reason to take him seriously either. His full interview can be found here: [...]
Tosca is meant to be a religious woman, and one of the most powerful scenes is after killing Scarpia, she lays the candles by him and a cross on him before escaping - yet here she's lying on a couch fanning herself. Why? What character direction in her description or life makes her do that? Bondy continued to praise himself in what he thought was his own creativity.
Other examples of completely bizarre and over-dramatic direction is everywhere else. Tosca takes a sword to Mario's painting - why? She's jealous, but she's not meant to be so violent that she has a destructive disorder needing psychiatric help. Further, why would she do that and other characters act like that just didn't happen? Or when Scarpia appears in act two and is surrounded by women (one of whom with her mouth on his groin) why do the other men in the room act like nothing's happening? If it's to show to the audience that Scarpia's a creep - we didn't need something that extreme to get the point. In the end of Act 1, the congregation simply freezes in horror melodramatically while Scarpia takes the statue of the Virgin and kisses her. Again, why would he do this? The libretto and dictated actions are plenty to get the idea that he's a creep, and if Bondy thinks we are so stupid that we wouldn't understand that Scarpia's a terrible man, then why is he directing? A good director should equally know when to have a character move and gesture - and should also know when they shouldn't; composers must also know when to write notes, and when to write rests.
All in all, Gagnidze's and Alvarez's singing along with Colaneri's conducting were the only enjoyable aspects for this performance, but are not strong enough for me to recommend this DVD. I would probably not even get it as just a CD due to Mattila's unconvincing Tosca. Luc Bondy by his own admission does not like Tosca, yet he remains prideful in himself. If he doesn't respect us, Puccini, Giacossa, or Illica, then why should we respect him? Again, I am not being harsh on Luc Bondy if these are things he himself is saying - he even said he is angry with anyone with a disapproving opinion, and it is on camera and on the record. I can't take the performance seriously if the people involved don't take you seriously.
I was not convinced by Karita Mattila's Tosca. I don't see an innocent highly catholic woman in her acting, nor does her voice have the sweet innocence of Tosca. She has a powerful and wonderful voice, but I don't think it matches the timbre for a Tosca. I have heard her in quite a few more powerful roles which she's been perfect for, so this was a disappointment.
Marcelo Alvarez's Mario was a much more successful role in this performance. Brave, confident, in love, and later heartbroken, sympathetic, and tragic. His voice was always there and never faltering. If anything, I found his performance a little on the melodramatic side.
George Gognidze's Scarpia is by far the most successful role in this performance. His voice is so sinister when he speaks, and his creepy smile throughout is enough to send chills through anyone's spines. It's only his second time at the Met apparently, but I hope that we see more of him not only at the Met but at other great opera houses around the world. He's a wonderful talent, and in the backstage interviews he's also quite a sweet man, like looking and listening to an entirely different person; the true sign of a talented actor.
The director Luc Bondy seems to be unaware of what Verismo theater is. It is realistic, meant to have three-dimensional characters with reasons for actions and gestures. He himself used the word "stupid" when describing the libretto to Tosca. To quote him: "It's nothing special. It's opera." Therefore by his own admission, he did not take Tosca seriously, nor its libretto, and perhaps not even opera as a whole. For this, I do not see why he decided to take this job. For money? Attention? In any case, it gives us no reason to take him seriously either. His full interview can be found here: [...]
Tosca is meant to be a religious woman, and one of the most powerful scenes is after killing Scarpia, she lays the candles by him and a cross on him before escaping - yet here she's lying on a couch fanning herself. Why? What character direction in her description or life makes her do that? Bondy continued to praise himself in what he thought was his own creativity.
Other examples of completely bizarre and over-dramatic direction is everywhere else. Tosca takes a sword to Mario's painting - why? She's jealous, but she's not meant to be so violent that she has a destructive disorder needing psychiatric help. Further, why would she do that and other characters act like that just didn't happen? Or when Scarpia appears in act two and is surrounded by women (one of whom with her mouth on his groin) why do the other men in the room act like nothing's happening? If it's to show to the audience that Scarpia's a creep - we didn't need something that extreme to get the point. In the end of Act 1, the congregation simply freezes in horror melodramatically while Scarpia takes the statue of the Virgin and kisses her. Again, why would he do this? The libretto and dictated actions are plenty to get the idea that he's a creep, and if Bondy thinks we are so stupid that we wouldn't understand that Scarpia's a terrible man, then why is he directing? A good director should equally know when to have a character move and gesture - and should also know when they shouldn't; composers must also know when to write notes, and when to write rests.
All in all, Gagnidze's and Alvarez's singing along with Colaneri's conducting were the only enjoyable aspects for this performance, but are not strong enough for me to recommend this DVD. I would probably not even get it as just a CD due to Mattila's unconvincing Tosca. Luc Bondy by his own admission does not like Tosca, yet he remains prideful in himself. If he doesn't respect us, Puccini, Giacossa, or Illica, then why should we respect him? Again, I am not being harsh on Luc Bondy if these are things he himself is saying - he even said he is angry with anyone with a disapproving opinion, and it is on camera and on the record. I can't take the performance seriously if the people involved don't take you seriously.
33 of 36 people found the following review helpful
I am really surprised that the Met even released this opera. The production premiered on September 21, 2009, to boos from the audience and universal pans from the music critics. This release, from a live performance on October 10, 2009, shows clearly the reasons for the negative reactions.
Let's begin with the sets, designed by Richard Peduzzi. The Act I chapel of the majestic church of Sant' Andrea Valle looks like the interior of a stark, seldom used warehuse. The old Zeffirelli production may have been overly elaborate; but this moves to far greater extremes the other direction. The chapel is furnished with out-of-context wooden folding chairs. I researched wooden folding chairs after viewing this setting, and found that they did exist in the early nineteenth century; but these were the style I sat on in Sunday School in the 1940s.
Act II, the "magnificent apartment in the Farnese Palace" was almost as barren as the Act I chapel. Furnished only with two sofas, a small table, and a glider rocking chair (which, by the way, was not patented until 1939). The Act III battlements of the castle were the only set that fit the intended context of the opera.
Then, there is the staging, directed by Luc Bondy. Much of the Met's early publicity spoke of how Bundy breathed a new sense of meaning into the players. New, perhaps, but not what Tosca is intended to be. Karita Mattila, billed as an incredible actress, would best be recognized for her incredible overacting. Whether this is Bondy or Mattila cannot be stated for certain. In Act III, her demonstration to Cavarodossi of how to die was so ludicrous that the audience laughed at it. If this was intended as comic relief, it was inserted in an inappropriate spot in the script. Her monotonous acting in Act II, although hailed by the Met as highly emotional, portrayed no sense of high feelings. George Gagnidze's Scarpia is portrayed, not as lecherous, but as maniacal. Again, was this Bondy or Gagnidze?
Moving to the music. This was basically a shouting match among the three principals, to see who could sing the loudest. None of them won; but the audience lost. To add insult to injury, Mattila had a lot of intonation problems, most notably in the high notes of Vissi d'arte.
I noticed, interestingly, two things as the opera concluded. Tosca's leap from the battlement, supposedly accomplished by a stunt double, was panned by the opening night critics as looking like a dummy, thrown from the top of the set. in the video, the leap is cut off by a blackout. Also, the curtain calls did not include the stage director (Bondy) the major point of the booing on opening night. It seems the Met knew they had problems.
Usually, there is something favorable to review about the Met's releases. Only the Met themselves and a few others find much favorable about this production.
Let's begin with the sets, designed by Richard Peduzzi. The Act I chapel of the majestic church of Sant' Andrea Valle looks like the interior of a stark, seldom used warehuse. The old Zeffirelli production may have been overly elaborate; but this moves to far greater extremes the other direction. The chapel is furnished with out-of-context wooden folding chairs. I researched wooden folding chairs after viewing this setting, and found that they did exist in the early nineteenth century; but these were the style I sat on in Sunday School in the 1940s.
Act II, the "magnificent apartment in the Farnese Palace" was almost as barren as the Act I chapel. Furnished only with two sofas, a small table, and a glider rocking chair (which, by the way, was not patented until 1939). The Act III battlements of the castle were the only set that fit the intended context of the opera.
Then, there is the staging, directed by Luc Bondy. Much of the Met's early publicity spoke of how Bundy breathed a new sense of meaning into the players. New, perhaps, but not what Tosca is intended to be. Karita Mattila, billed as an incredible actress, would best be recognized for her incredible overacting. Whether this is Bondy or Mattila cannot be stated for certain. In Act III, her demonstration to Cavarodossi of how to die was so ludicrous that the audience laughed at it. If this was intended as comic relief, it was inserted in an inappropriate spot in the script. Her monotonous acting in Act II, although hailed by the Met as highly emotional, portrayed no sense of high feelings. George Gagnidze's Scarpia is portrayed, not as lecherous, but as maniacal. Again, was this Bondy or Gagnidze?
Moving to the music. This was basically a shouting match among the three principals, to see who could sing the loudest. None of them won; but the audience lost. To add insult to injury, Mattila had a lot of intonation problems, most notably in the high notes of Vissi d'arte.
I noticed, interestingly, two things as the opera concluded. Tosca's leap from the battlement, supposedly accomplished by a stunt double, was panned by the opening night critics as looking like a dummy, thrown from the top of the set. in the video, the leap is cut off by a blackout. Also, the curtain calls did not include the stage director (Bondy) the major point of the booing on opening night. It seems the Met knew they had problems.
Usually, there is something favorable to review about the Met's releases. Only the Met themselves and a few others find much favorable about this production.
22 of 25 people found the following review helpful
The opening night of the 2009 season was a star-studded affair, and the raison d'etre was supposed to be a new production of Tosca which would replace Franco Zefferelli's overstuffed, pompous (and aging) production. Luc Bondy's production was marked by vociferous booing at the curtain calls, and it made the front page of major newspapers. There is of course no such thing as bad publicity, as the Tosca production continues to sell well.
The HD broadcast is now released on dvd, and away from the hype and hyperbole, one can see the production now on fairly detatched terms. It has some shock moments, but is overall a boring, dreary production of Puccini's "shabby little shocker." There is nothing with a new take of any opera, and I am not in favor of productions that make Tosca post-card pretty. After all the opera is violent from the opening chords and doesn't really ever stop. But Bondy's stage direction just have an ugliness to them that doesn't seem so much artistic as it is just ugly for the sake of being ugly. The Act 1 is marked by such scenes as Scarpia "pleasuring" a statue of the Virgin Mary. Act 2 (inexplicably moved up to around the Fascist era) starts with three hookers "pleasuring" Scarpia. But at times when the action SHOULD be hair-raising, Bondy is a strangely inert director. When Tosca finally kills Scarpia, traditionally Tosca places a crucifix and candles at Scarpia's body, tries to find the papers for Cavaradossi's execution, and rushes out of the apartment. Bondy eschews the crucifix, the fumbling among Scarpia's papers, and instead lies down on the couch and fans herself until the curtains go dark. This bit of stage business is extremely anti-climactic and really takes away from the sense of desperation and urgency that Tosca feels after she murders Scarpia. The te Deum is another scene which showed practically NO direction at all -- just people wandering in unorganized clumps onstage.
The sets are industrial-looking and ugly. In Act 1 the Sant'Andrea della Valle in Rome is a dark, ugly-looking cavernous structure with metal railings. The Scarpia's study as I said appears to have been moved to the 1940s Fascist era, and there are large maps of Italy on the walls. The hookers are dressed in modern hooker clothes -- fishnets, platform heels. But Tosca is dressed in a period gown. The furniture is rather modern and engulfed by the gargantuan sets, which only make the Met stage look more cavernous and the opera less intimate.
The singing is actually my biggest problem with this release. After watching Mattila in both Tosca and Manon Lescaut, I think Karila Mattila and Puccini are a bad fit. This highly intelligent artist (and unforgettable Salome and Jenufa) also has some vocal weaknesses that are only exposed by Puccini: the somewhat colorless, white-sounding middle, and some unsteadiness in the lower register. She has the high C's, but where one expects the voice to swell, her voice drains in color. Where one expects a sharp declamatory sound her voice loses impact. She seems to be in physical pain while singing the music -- her face is so tense that it's actually hard to look at her. "Visse d'arte" has some uncomfortable gear-shifting. Also, the production makes Tosca so strangely passive. Even her last big moment, when she jumps to her death, is ruined by the image of a dummy freeze-framed as the curtain goes down. The visual effect caused unintentional laughter.
Marcelo Alvarez has a kind of pretty, bland lyric tenor voice with a good top. The problem is that after awhile one realizes that he's not actually singing, he's crooning. "Recondita armonia" is a particularly bad case of crooning from start to finish. The voice is weak in the middle and lower register, and lacks any bite, which gives his singing a bland, unexciting quality. He's also of the purely park-and-bark variety in terms of acting. George Gagnidze's Scarpia was much criticized but I think it was the strongest performance of the trio. He has a real bass-baritone -- dark, snarling, not the prettiest sound, but he created a memorable character despite the overly fussy stage business that Scarpia has to partake in. His Scarpia is a total monster, who drips not only evil but a kind of crudeness and thuggishness.
Overall one wonders why this HD telecast was even released for DVD. It doesn't bear well upon repeated viewings, and captures no truly memorable vocal performance.
The HD broadcast is now released on dvd, and away from the hype and hyperbole, one can see the production now on fairly detatched terms. It has some shock moments, but is overall a boring, dreary production of Puccini's "shabby little shocker." There is nothing with a new take of any opera, and I am not in favor of productions that make Tosca post-card pretty. After all the opera is violent from the opening chords and doesn't really ever stop. But Bondy's stage direction just have an ugliness to them that doesn't seem so much artistic as it is just ugly for the sake of being ugly. The Act 1 is marked by such scenes as Scarpia "pleasuring" a statue of the Virgin Mary. Act 2 (inexplicably moved up to around the Fascist era) starts with three hookers "pleasuring" Scarpia. But at times when the action SHOULD be hair-raising, Bondy is a strangely inert director. When Tosca finally kills Scarpia, traditionally Tosca places a crucifix and candles at Scarpia's body, tries to find the papers for Cavaradossi's execution, and rushes out of the apartment. Bondy eschews the crucifix, the fumbling among Scarpia's papers, and instead lies down on the couch and fans herself until the curtains go dark. This bit of stage business is extremely anti-climactic and really takes away from the sense of desperation and urgency that Tosca feels after she murders Scarpia. The te Deum is another scene which showed practically NO direction at all -- just people wandering in unorganized clumps onstage.
The sets are industrial-looking and ugly. In Act 1 the Sant'Andrea della Valle in Rome is a dark, ugly-looking cavernous structure with metal railings. The Scarpia's study as I said appears to have been moved to the 1940s Fascist era, and there are large maps of Italy on the walls. The hookers are dressed in modern hooker clothes -- fishnets, platform heels. But Tosca is dressed in a period gown. The furniture is rather modern and engulfed by the gargantuan sets, which only make the Met stage look more cavernous and the opera less intimate.
The singing is actually my biggest problem with this release. After watching Mattila in both Tosca and Manon Lescaut, I think Karila Mattila and Puccini are a bad fit. This highly intelligent artist (and unforgettable Salome and Jenufa) also has some vocal weaknesses that are only exposed by Puccini: the somewhat colorless, white-sounding middle, and some unsteadiness in the lower register. She has the high C's, but where one expects the voice to swell, her voice drains in color. Where one expects a sharp declamatory sound her voice loses impact. She seems to be in physical pain while singing the music -- her face is so tense that it's actually hard to look at her. "Visse d'arte" has some uncomfortable gear-shifting. Also, the production makes Tosca so strangely passive. Even her last big moment, when she jumps to her death, is ruined by the image of a dummy freeze-framed as the curtain goes down. The visual effect caused unintentional laughter.
Marcelo Alvarez has a kind of pretty, bland lyric tenor voice with a good top. The problem is that after awhile one realizes that he's not actually singing, he's crooning. "Recondita armonia" is a particularly bad case of crooning from start to finish. The voice is weak in the middle and lower register, and lacks any bite, which gives his singing a bland, unexciting quality. He's also of the purely park-and-bark variety in terms of acting. George Gagnidze's Scarpia was much criticized but I think it was the strongest performance of the trio. He has a real bass-baritone -- dark, snarling, not the prettiest sound, but he created a memorable character despite the overly fussy stage business that Scarpia has to partake in. His Scarpia is a total monster, who drips not only evil but a kind of crudeness and thuggishness.
Overall one wonders why this HD telecast was even released for DVD. It doesn't bear well upon repeated viewings, and captures no truly memorable vocal performance.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
worst Tosca on DVD
Unfortunately, I paid a lot of money to see this Tosca at the Met.
And now it's available on DVD. Read more
And now it's available on DVD. Read more
Published 14 months ago by dieter s.
BUEN TENOR Y BARITONO, HORRIBLE PRODUCCION ESCÉNICA
Musicalmente, esta "Tosca" es un logro de buen nivel, sobre todo por el amenazador y poderoso Scarpia de Gagnidze. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Freddy Torres
Terrible production
I saw this on the Live From The Met Hd broadcast and it was not greeted well after it concluded.
Karita Mattila has a lovely voice, but has not any kind of a voice for... Read more
Karita Mattila has a lovely voice, but has not any kind of a voice for... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Daniel G. Madigan
Best avoided
I bought this DVD for 9 Euros (I mean NINE Euros, it's not a typo), and after watching this I couldn't help but lament the waste of my money and time. Read more
Published 17 months ago by SilverWizard
Not worthy of DVD release
This controversial production of Tosca at the Met appears to serve one purpose: to break the traditional mold and reinterpret this classic work for a 21st century audience. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Patrick Maschka
More or less average performance
I enjoyed the singing and acting of Cavaradossi and Scarpia. I found Tosca to be
much less convincing. Read more
much less convincing. Read more
Published 17 months ago by tk
Just Seeing Marcelo's Cavaradossi is worth the money
I am ordering this DVD just to see and hear Marcelo Alvarez. He is the new Pavaratti in singing in my book and a much better "actor".
Published 18 months ago by T. chalmers
MET was wrong to cast Mattila in title role, but the two supporting...
Okay, this production is not up to standard. Let's concentrate on the performances instead.
I for one viewed this with quite a good deal of deference for the singers, despite... Read more
I for one viewed this with quite a good deal of deference for the singers, despite... Read more
Published 18 months ago by Abel
Great Production
In response to the previous reviewers who either saw the production live or the live boradcast, Vanstryland is correct, there is no 'insult' to the virgin mary. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Mike Englezul
What Virgin Mary?
I don't usually review products I haven't laid eyes on, and I have not viewed this DVD. Like Mr Fuenzalida, however, I did see the telecast on public TV, I didn't like the... Read more
Published 19 months ago by Robert G. Vanstryland
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