As the founder of Bell’s Shakespeare, it’s safe to say that John Bell understands drama in his very bones (and Yorick’s). And there are very few artforms that can lay quite as much claim to being dramatic as the opera. Which is why it was a perfect fit when Opera Australia (OA) tapped Bell to direct a new take on one of the world’s most cherished, Tosca, in 2013. Still talked about to this day, the production updated Puccini’s 1800-set thriller and placed it in Rome under the grip of the Nazis in 1943.
Dubbed the “Lady Gaga of Opera”, Italian soprano Carmen Giannattasio marks her OA debut in the lead role of Tosca, the diva threatened with a terrible demand. Corrupt and lecherous police chief Baron Scarpia (as played by baritone Marco Vratogna) abuses his power, coercing her into surrendering her lover and political activist Mario Cavaradossi (Australia’s favourite tenor, Diego Torre) in order to prevent his certain death, and to turn to him instead. Yuck.
Sensational young conductor Andrea Battistoni leads the orchestra in this lushly staged show. Magnificent sets have been summoned forth by award-winning Michael Scott-Mitchell, and costume designer Teresa Negroponte excels, too. Tosca returns to the Opera House from February 22 until March 13. “The era I have chosen is a time close enough for its history and images to stir our memory and our emotions,” Bell says. “Tosca is a dark story, but one alleviated by Puccini’s glorious music, which celebrates the heroism of those who choose death over loss of liberty.”
Our review of the original run said, “This is just excellent stuff, with the kind of compacted, concentrated energy that one expects from the best Shakespeare. If it doesn’t make you fall in love with opera, probably nothing will.”
Even better, OA is offering $20 tickets to 2,000 lucky first time opera-goers to see its upcoming production of Puccini’s Tosca in brills seats, thanks to the generosity of the Susan and Isaac Wakil Foundation. If you’ve never gone before, you can go into the ballot here.
