Germany Puccini, Tosca: Soloists, Chorus, Extra Chorus, Children’s Chorus and Extras of Staatsoper Hannover. Niedersächsisches Staatsorchester Hannover / James Hendry (conductor). Staatsoper Hannover, 30.3.2025. (DM-D)
In this revival of a 2019 production, director Vasily Barkhatov told the plot of Tosca from the perspective of Scarpia. As a child, he was abused by the Sacristan (who was overly fascinated by the choristers: Cavaradossi repeatedly chased him away from one of the boys). Scarpia is a leading church figure (rather than chief of police) and the childhood abuse manifests itself in an obsession with Tosca, with a small room in his abode turned into a fetish room of Tosca items, where he engages in his fantasies with the fetish objects. He coerces Angelotti, his sister and Cavaradossi, into a plot (Angelotti’s escape, Cavaradossi’s arrest and torture) solely meant to allow him to have his way with Tosca.
This directorial take on the plot was expressed in the set by Zinovy Margolin through an emphasis on where Scarpia lived, a low-ceiling two-room flat, the small fetish room leading off to a third room to the left, offstage, and the main room, with prominent desk, a table with chairs around it and a TV screen (very large for the dimensions of the room, tiny for the audience) where Scarpia confesses after Tosca stabs him. The platform where all this was on was raised above the stage at times to reveal the Church, where a ‘Merry Christmas’ sign signalled the time of year, together with a nativity scene; Cavaradossi was applying paint to a relatively small statue of the Virgin Mary.
This directorial concept makes sense when summarised in this way. Sadly, plenty of the detail was too muddled to add up to a narrative comprehensible whilst watching the opera. Much was not clear at first sight but emerged only with the effort of piecing things together based on much reflection and reading all available reviews from 2019. Unnecessarily dim lighting did not help either. This frustration may have fuelled a few boos when the final curtain had come down.
Olga Busuioc sang Tosca with full commitment. Occasional sharp edges did not detract from the rich voice, balanced across registers, with an even vibrato, which was particularly beautiful and expressive in ‘Vissi d’arte’. Andeka Gorrotxategi’s voice was on the heavy side, sometimes unwieldy, leading to a crack in a quieter moment. He had to push up with some effort to some exposed high notes. Once reached, the sound he produced was very strong indeed, even powerful, steely and ringing. Gustavo Castillo’s voice was very well suited to the production’s directorial concept of Scarpia as considered above: both acting and vocal interpretation were very nuanced, demonstrating his character as the victim turned perpetrator. Costillo’s flexible baritone was thus sufficiently broad for the moments of exposed cruelty, and equally capable of channelling refined, even moving moments unusual for Scarpia. Frank Schneiders did full justice to the Sacristan with this role’s enhanced importance in Barkhatov’s concept; Fabio Dorizzi’s tenor as the conspiratorial Spoletta was appropriately different from that of Schneiders. Markus Suihkonen was a mellifluous Angelotti.
James Hendry found a good balance between a high level of sensitivity to the singer’s needs in terms of tempi and volume, and his very own reading of the score. He relished Puccini’s rhythms and brought out the depth of emotions while consistently avoiding excessive volume and thunderous brass and percussion.
Daniel Meyer-Dinkgräfe
Production:
Director – Vasily Barkhatov
Revival director – Clara Jansen
Set designer – Zinovy Margolin
Costume designer – Olga Shaishmelashvili
Lighting designer and Video – Alexander Sivaev
Dramaturgy – Regine Palmai
Chorus director – Lorenzo da Rio
Children’s chorus director – Tatiana Bergh
Cast:
Tosca – Olga Busuioc
Cavaradossi – Andeka Gorrotxategi
Scarpia – Gustavo Castillo
Sacristan – Frank Schneiders
Spoletta – Fabio Dorizzi
Angelotti – Markus Suihkonen
Sciarrone – Eduardo Martínez
Shepherd boy – soloist of the boys choir of the Chorakademie Dortmund
Jailer – Gustavo Castillo