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Puccini's Dark Drama Gets Its Due
By Bruce Wright
Does the torture of political prisoners sound like the stuff of "grand opera," or a topic out of today's headlines? Throw in a little sexual sadism, in a police state propped up by religious authority, and you have a story that sounds more like a horrific vision of the future than the tragic romance of La Boheme or Madama Butterfly.
Don't worry. There's plenty of tragic romance in the production of Puccini's Tosca that will be mounted in June at the Madrid Theatre. But there's also plenty of contemporary relevance in director Dylan F. Thomas's vision of the opera, which takes a few unexpected-and possibly controversial-twists and turns.
Over the century-plus since the premiere of Tosca in 1900, it has often been "prettified" and "elevated." Yet this opera emerged at the height of the movement called verismo-a movement that emphasized raw emotions and dramatic realism on the operatic stage. At the time, conservative critics complained about the inclusion of a graphic torture scene (the actual torture takes place just off stage, but the scene is no less gripping for that). Decades later, they were still sniping: Uncomfortable, perhaps, with the dark heart of Tosca, musicologist Joseph Kerman famously dismissed it as a "shabby little shocker."
Audiences knew better. With a riveting mix of nail-biting suspense and lush, achingly beautiful music, Tosca has been a mainstay of the repertoire from the first.
Now in its fifth year of producing fully staged operas featuring the Center Stage Opera Orchestra under the baton of maestro Brian Onderdonk, CSO has earned a reputation for bold, powerful interpretations of the great classics. Last summer's Rigoletto exposed the dark heart of Verdi's masterpiece. In January, CSO staged salty, comedy-driven performances of The Marriage of Figaro that elicited roars of laughter from the sold-out Madrid Theatre.
Tosca will see a first performance at Diamond Bar High School Theater in Diamond Bar on June 20; tickets for this performance, which is open for admission to the general public, are available at www.ticketleap.com. The following weekend, June 27-28, CSO returns to its familiar venue, the Madrid Theatre, at the heart of Antique Row in downtown Canoga Park, an intimate theater where every seat offers a good view of the stage and excellent acoustics. Tickets may be purchased from the Madrid Theatre box office at (818) 347-9938. Or, visit www.centerstageopera.org. Prices range from $25 to $36; be sure to ask about student and senior discounts.