He is suitably repulsive, though, when he actually caresses Tosca - you do get a feeling that the ordeal she's facing is unendurable, and it provides a nice buildup to the violence that follows.
He is a little too jolly to be frightening Raimondi brought out truly scary undertones of rage and disappointment in the character, whereas MacNeil is more of a politician and a bon vivant. I was spoiled by Ruggero Raimondi's excellent acting when he played Scarpia, and MacNeil is a bit stolid in comparison.
Cornell MacNeil is not my idea of Scarpia, but I find his performance grows on me the more I watch it. (I hope they used real incense and not dry ice - it's not often you can almost *smell* an opera through the screen!) Placido Domingo is really great as Cavaradossi - he's so virile and appealing, you really can imagine him being ready to fight his way past opponents when he and Angelotti escape from the church. Even seeing it on TV is spectacular - I can only imagine what it was like to actually be there in the theater.
The set design is stunning the conclusion of Act I is like seeing David's painting of Napoleon crowning Josephine brought to life. I realize that as a stage production, it would have to be quite different from a "movie" of the opera, and though it has its necessary limitations, it also has some quite lovely compensations. I prefer the 2001 film version by Benoit, but this one is still very fine. Racette creates a consistent, sympathetic character, even pulling off the sillier bits of business: the throwing of the chair and the stabbing of the painting in the first act the way this Tosca lies down and fans herself, like Blanche DuBois, after murdering Scarpia.I'm no great opera expert, but I like Tosca, and am trying to see as many versions as possible. More than Karita Mattila or Sondra Radvanovsky, the other sopranos I’ve seen in Luc Bondy’s production, Ms. She leaves you satisfied if rarely wowed. She also acts with sincerity and naturalness. Racette sings with feeling and musicality her low register has gotten particularly resonant, and she deploys its power tastefully. She was Tosca at the run’s opening night on Tuesday, and it was clear why she doesn’t capture the imagination: her voice isn’t opulent or unique, and she lacks magnetism.īut Ms. Though the soprano Patricia Racette has sung consistently at the Met since 1995, she has never become a big star the adjective “underrated” naturally attaches to her. This season’s revival of Puccini’s “Tosca” at the Metropolitan Opera features a beginning, an ending and everything in between: a young conductor’s debut, a cast filled with experienced Met singers and the final performances of a company stalwart.
0 kommentar(er)
