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Tosca
Metropolitan Opera House, Thu, November 12, 1998
Debut : Paul Lyon
Tosca (804)
Giacomo Puccini | Luigi Illica/Giuseppe Giacosa
- Tosca
- Maria Guleghina
- Cavaradossi
- Paul Lyon [Debut]
- Scarpia
- Juan Pons
- Sacristan
- Thomas Hammons
- Spoletta
- Charles Anthony
- Angelotti
- Richard Bernstein
- Sciarrone
- Philip Cokorinos
- Shepherd
- Benjamin Ungar
- Jailer
- Richard Vernon
- Conductor
- Nello Santi
Review 1:
Review of Ronald Blum for the Associated Press in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune
NEW YORK — Cecilia Bartoli thinks that all the quarreling about her decision to sing alternate arias in Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro" was, in a strange way, good for the opera.
"A lot of people, they know of the traditional arias," she said, "but very few people know about this. Now, many people know because it's a controversial thing."
The "Figaro," with Bryn Terfel in the title role, Bartoli as Susanna, Renée Fleming as the Countess, Dwayne Croft as the Count and Susanne Mentzer as Cherubino, was taped at the Metropolitan Opera in November 1998 and will be broadcast Sunday.
Gary Halvorson, directing his second TV production at the Met, used nine cameras, two more than usual, to capture the all-star cast in Mozart's richest comedy, and the result is one of the best opera telecasts ever.
"Renée, Cecilia and Bryn are all wonderful actors in their own right, in addition to being great singers, and they're very funny," said Halvorson, who recently directed the movie "The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland."
While Bartoli sang the traditional arias "Venite inginocchiatevi" and "Deh vieni" at the open*ing of Jonathan Miller's production on Oct. 29, 1998, she sang the alternate arias "Un moto di gioia" and "Al desio di chi t'adora" for the next three performances, which were videotaped. Most of the PBS version comes from the fourth night, Nov. 11, 1998.
Mozart used the traditional arias when Nancy Storace sang Susanna in the opera's 1786 premiere. When coloratura Adriana Ferrarese del Bene sang Susanna in 1789, she asked Mozart to compose substitutes with greater ornamentation and these are the ones Bartoli chose to sing for this televised version.
Some music writers criticized Bartoli, saying the alternates weren't as good.
"Instead of being happy to discover things, they will try to attack that as something not good, not Mozart. That's what makes me sad," Bartoli said. "This, I think, is the way to share this beautiful music with the people. Now, all the people will know more about the other arias."
Aside from the controversy, it's a glorious performance, with Fleming captured as the Countess in the prime of her career, a soprano to rival any. The tempo for her "Dove sono" in the third act is extremely slow— but she pulls it off wonderfully. It includes a seconds-long pause in the middle before the repeat.
"That was Jimmy's idea," Fleming said, referring to conductor James Levine, the Met's artistic director.
Terfel's Figaro is much deeper and more nuanced than a version he taped in the mid-1990s. At the end of the first act, he puts a thumb on his nose and shakes his fingers at Cherubino, who has been sent from the Almaviva estate to join the military as punishment for supposedly making advances toward the Countess.
"I wanted a very fast pace," Halvorson said, adding that he used about 1,300 different shots in the telecast. "I wanted to be tight, not two-shots, but single shots, where you punch up the comedy, punch up the dialogue. It was very, very spirited."
The only other Met telecast this season is Strauss' "Der Rosenkavalier," to be broadcast in the spring. Originally telecast live on Oct 7, 1982, it has Kiri Te Kanawa as the Marschallin, Tatiana Troyanos as Octavian, Judith Blegan as Sophie, Luciano Pavarotti as the Italian singer and Kurt Moll as Baron Ochs.
"Tristan and Isolde," with Ben Heppner and Jane Eaglen in the title roles, was taped this month for broadcast next season.
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