Bryn Terfel as Scarpia in Tosca
On Thursday, I had my first trip to the Royal Opera House and what an experiance! It is so grand and the buzz created in it was electrifying. On top of this, the opera chosen for my first visit was the opera that convinced me of the power of classical music. Puccini's music is the best music for anyone starting in opera. Tosca gets the romance and grandure just right.
And this production achieved perfection. Kent's production is so evocative that treads the line between the extraordinary political events going on and a close romance. It has received a lot of criticism over the years, however giving this production five stars only on the merits on its cast. This either shows inconsistency of several reviewers or the snobbery the same reviewers. Having said that, the cast is absolutely superb and, whilst it is slightly unbelievable to understand how a production can leap from two to five stars, the combination of Radvanovsky, Massi and Terfel does prove an unstoppable force. Vissi d'Arte in particular had my hairs on end with rapturous applause. They also made the third act seem good which is also a great feat. In general, one of the best operas performed perfectly.
P.S: Placido Domingo waved his stick around well.
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