March 17, 2003: Tosca in Vienna

2003-03-17 Tosca (G.Puccini), Wiener Staatsoper

Mario Cavaradossi = José Cura
Floria Tosca = Isabelle Kabatu
Baron Scarpia = Franz Grundheber
Cesare Angelotti = Janusz Monarcha
Der Mesner = Wolfgang Bankl
Spoletta = Benedikt Kobel
Sciarrone = In-Sung Sim
Ein Schließer = Günther Groissböck

Stefano Ranzani, conductor


Wiener Staatsoper
Montag, 17. märz 2003
473. Aufführung in dieser Inszenierung

Tosca
Melodramma in drei Akten nach Victorien Sardou von Luigi Illica und Giuseppe Giacosa
Musik von Giacomo Puccini

Dirigent Stefano Ranzani
Inszenierung Margarethe Wallmann
Bühnenbild und Kostüme Nicola Benois
Chorleitung Ernst Dunshirn

Ein Hirt Kind der Opernschule
der Wiener Staatsoper

Orchester der Wiener Staatsoper Bühnenorchester der Wiener Staatsoper

Chor der Wiener Staatsoper Kinder der Opernschule der Wiener Staatsoper

Tosca with José Cura as Mario Cavaradossi.

On 16th March 2003, I took a fall in a McDonald's restaurant. After coming to my hotel, I found out that I needed a doctor. He came, I got a kind of bandage on my right wrist, and a sport gel tube and some pill to kill the pain. After a not so pleasant night, it was 17th March 2003, and pain went and came again and again.

But I was not to miss Tosca, I already had a ticket, and I hope that the opera would be so great that I could forget pain and just be in operaland for 3 hours. But no, my loge was on the wrong side for getting to see the action. I blame the director, naturally. It was not a cheap ticket, and since I lost so much of act 2 and 3, like seeing how Jose Cura looked when singing "E lucevan le stelle".

The conductor was, I think really good. This was a good production, except when it was about situating the principals too much one side, making part of the audience suffering, to see nothing that was interesting that is. Isabella Kabatu was a great Tosca, and Grundheber a great Scarpia. I didn't find Cura a great Cavaradossi, but that was after his stupendous performance of Don Carlos.
'
The overall impression a weak Tosca performance, since it did not take my pain away.

I hardly heard Cura's voice. And how on earth am I to know if Cura sang a fantastic "E lucevan le stelle", I had lean over heavily to see his voice, had pain, and his voice was soooo weak when I compare to Don Carlos in Act 2 Scene 2. Cavaradossi died, and I did not care, Tosca jumped to her death, and I did not care.

I had some hope of seeing Cura backstage, and I did see him through the window, but all the people, and my pain. No, I had to protect myself from further pain, beside I hardly could operate my camera because of the pain. Well, I had promised some photos to my Cura Connexion friends, and I went to her hotel, wrote a not with my left hand, I also told the portier what I wrote so that the meaning would come through, and left some photos there. And then I went back to my hotel. The next day, 18. March was my home-going day.

well, Tosca is not so important for me, Don Carlos is. so Great TRAVEL, anyway

next time, please, I want to be lucky with the combination Cura and Tosca!!!

PS.
Lot of people enjoyed this Tosca, and especially José Cura as Cavaradossi. My excuse was my injury that made it harder to enjoy an opera performance. If I were rich I would have gone back to Vienna for another Tosca, tomorrow on 27. March is the last Tosca with Cura in Vienna for 2002/2003.


OD Travel + Photos

November 6, 2005: Le Villi in Vienna

2005-11-06 Le Villi (Puccini), Wiener Staatsoper

Roberto = José Cura
Anna = Krassimira Stoyanova
Guglielmo Wulf = Franz Grundheber

Simone Young, conductor

Le villi
(6. Aufführung in dieser Inszenierung)

Dirigentin: Simone Young
Inszenierung: Karoline Gruber
Ausstattung: Johan Engels
Licht: Patrick Woodroffe
Bewegungsregie: Beate Vollack
Choreinstudierung: Ernst Dunshirn



Karoline Gruber makes this opera into a kitchy Tirolean story. Very much about women doing the housework and men drinking beer. Luckily it is not totally ruined thanks to Cura, Stoyanova and Grundheber. One good idea the use of the Villis is very effective. Puccini's music is much better than this so-called inszenierung makes it.

OD Travel + Photos

For more reviews from my travels, see www.operaduetstravel.com
If you want to see more photos from my OperaDuets Travels, go to www.operaduetsphotos.com

June 20, 2009: Tosca in Berlin

2009-06-20 Tosca (Puccini), Deutsche Oper Berlin

Floria Tosca = Maria Guleghina
Mario Cavaradossi = Neil Shicoff
Baron Scarpia = Franz Grundheber
Cesare Angelotti = Krzysztof Szumanski
Der Mesner = Roland Schubert
Spoletta = Jörg Schörner
Sciarrone = Hyung-Wook Lee
Ein Schließer = Tomislav Lucic

Emmanuel Villaume, conductor

Tuesday I got the news from Parsifal's blog, that Angela Gheorghiu canceled her Tosca in Berlin, and that Maria Guleghina was singing instead. So I bought tickets to the opera and air ticket for the travel. I am so lucky that the price was reasonable at Norwegian Air. Because Angela Gheorghiu was supposed to sing the price was 118 Euro. Really 120 Euros.

So thanks to Parsifal's was I in Berlin to see an extraordinarily fine performance. Maria Guleghina is a fine actress. The perfect Tosca. Neil Shicoff sang the role of Mario Cavaradossi ardently. His voice sounded like always only a little bit grainier. His Recondita armonia and E lucevan le stelle was applauded very much. Maria Guleghina sang a wonderful Vissi d'arte. Franz Grundheber was an excellent Baron Scarpia. He used his age to his advantage. As many older opera singers who have learnt how to use everything to their advantage even their faults, Grundheber know all about how to project the character via voice and gestures...

The production was Tosca, plain and simple. Tosca in Rome in the right historical time. But isn't it time that the sagrestano lets go of the hunchback and being some kind of comic relief. Luckily Roland Schubert who sang this role had a great sonorous voice. Loved his voice. Cesare Angelotti was sung by Krzysztof Szumanski, also a bass, acted well together with Neil Shicoff. Of course, the opera only took on form and real life when Maria Guleghina came in. Wonderful duet followed. After the Tosca in Vienna (April 25, 2009) I was interested in how Sciarrone and Spoletta was in this production. From Vienna I recall the Sciarrone but not Spoletta. Here there was a different interaction between Sciarrone and Spoletta was different, more competitive. I liked Jörg Schörner as Spoletta and Hyung-Wook Lee as Sciarrone. And Tomislav Lucic was a sympatric jailor. A perfect TOSCA!!!!

Sat, 20.06.2009, 19:30 h
duration: 2 hrs 45 mins | 2 intervals

D Category: 35,- | 60,- | 85,- | 118,- Ticket online kaufen
[A service fee of Euro 2,- per ticket will be charged]

Giacomo Puccini
Tosca
Melodramma in 3 acts
Libretto by Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica based on the drama LA TOSCA by Victorien Sardou
First performed on 14th January, 1900 in Rome
Premiered at the Deutsche Oper Berlin on 13th April, 1969

In Italian with German surtitles


conductor
Emmanuel Villaume

director
Boleslaw Barlog

stage-design, costume-design
Filippo Sanjust

chorus-master
William Spaulding




Orchester der Deutschen Oper Berlin

Chor der Deutschen Oper Berlin

Knabe des Staats- und Domchores

Kinderchor der Deutschen Oper Berlin

OD Travel + Photos

Original blog post

For more reviews from my travels, see www.operaduetstravel.com
If you want to see more photos from my OperaDuets Travels, go to www.operaduetsphotos.com