WEBmikey: Tosca / Austin Lyric Opera : 4 of 5

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Tosca / Austin Lyric Opera : 4 of 5
9.19.2004 8:08 AM \| Link	Tosca is one of those operas that I've seen several times before - I even remember seeing an Austin Lyric Opera production of it several years ago. This is the first production put together by the new artistic director, and he brought in several performers and other artists he's worked with in the past to create a spectacular first impression! The singing was amazing - definitely the most talented (and beautiful) Tosca I've seen, and Scarpia was a truly fantastic villain (his acting definitely reminded me of Frollo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame!). The sets for Acts 1 and 2 were amazing - Scarpia's lair had huge walls covered with aged paintings and giant windows. The emotion of the piece was certainly intensified by the staging - at the end of Act I, they chose to have Scarpia's final evil aria sung in the church while the full procession of the Mass begins (there were hundreds of extras on stage). It was fantastically dramatic! Unfortunately, I wasn't that impressed with Act 3, when the big tragedy hits. It could have been because the music isn't as impressive as the prior acts, or maybe I was disappointed in the pacing (Tosca seemed to throw herself off the ledge too quickly), but at least I completely enjoyed most of the performance, which made the whole evening wonderful. Labels: arts, opera


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