Tosca

Opera singers aren't necessarily the greatest actors, and don't look their best straining for high notes in revealing close-up. Jacquot's version of the Puccini warhorse riskily pretends this isn't an issue; he gambles that we'll be won over by the emotional and physical commitment of the big name, real life couple Angela Gheorghiu and Roberto Alagna. Besides, since the plot is the hoariest melodrama (actress tries to save painter boyfriend by seducing the police chief about to have him executed), we'll hardly be expecting subtlety of characterisation, right? Regrettably, the gamble doesn't quite come off. There's some fine singing from tenor Alagna and soprano Gheorghiu, but the silent movie mugging does no one any favours. That said, the piece itself is to some degree indestructible, and first-timers may still find themselves swept along by wave upon wave of Puccini's glorious melody.