November 15, 2012
San Francisco lost its Tosca a little ahead of schedule
Thursday. Romanian soprano Angela Gheorghiu, having delivered an excellent
first-act performance, was suddenly off to the hospital, suffering the ravages
of intestinal flu. (Next-day reports had Gheorghiu resting comfortably,
recuperating from severe dehydration.)
Fortunately, SFO’s high-stakes run of Puccini’s opera –
featuring Patricia Racette in the alternate cast – also featured a top-notch
understudy. Soprano Melody Moore, a product of SFO’s Adler Fellow program, has
performed Figaro’s Contessa, Bohème’s Mimi, and also created the role
of Susan Rescorla in SFO’s 2011 world premiere of Heart of a Soldier.
Following an extended intermission while Moore got into
costume and make-up, she was thrust into the turmoil of Act 2, but not before a
beautifully apt introduction, Baron Scarpia’s comment on the delayed concert
next door: “With the diva still missing, they can’t start the cantata.”
Conductor Nicola Luisotti duly paused as a round of laughter rolled through the
opera house.
Moore seemed a little unsure at the opening of the act
(conveniently fitting the mental state of her character), but a few well-placed
screams at the torturing of her Mario had her fully warmed up, exhibiting a
tone a bit more on the dramatic side of Tosca’s lirico/drammatico split. The
lyricism was certainly there,
however, for “Vissi d’arte.” Moore sang the piece to perfection, applying a
bracing piano to its penultimate phrase,
and seemed to be held aloft on the wishes of an entire opera house, all of them
seemingly holding their breaths. I don’t know if I have witnessed a more
inspiring moment in the theater.
Moore then shifted back to dramatic, applying a forceful vocal
presence to her wrestling match with Scarpia, and then to the chilling taunts
delivered over the villain’s corpse. Considering the circumstances, her
execution of the scene’s complex movements was a miracle unto itself. The trick
seemed even more amazing the following day, when SFO reported that this was
Moore’s first performance of the role. She was duly rewarded for her courage:
the audience remained subdued during the other singers’ curtain calls so that
they could burst to their feet at Moore’s appearance, certainly a more
memorable ovation than most performers will receive in a lifetime.
The evening’s drama had the unintended effect of
overshadowing some superb performances. Italian baritone Roberto Frontali, a
memorable Jack Rance in SFO’s 2010 La Fanciulla
del West, delivered a Scarpia that was divinely creepy. Frontali was
particulary good in the Act 1 Te Deum, savoring his lascivious dreams of Tosca
even as his followers sing the sacred liturgy behind him (even today, Puccini’s
musical meshing of the sacred and profane – including the Act 2
cantata-interrogation scene, seem astoundingly radical).
The pronounced vocal technique of Pompeiian tenor Massimo
Giordano was initially a little distracting, but it’s hard to argue with the
results, first revealed in the heart-melting tribute to Tosca’s eyes preceding
the “Mia gelosa” duet, and later in a beautifully understated performance of “E
lucevan le stelle.” We can also assume that both Frontali and Giordano played a
significant part in navigating Moore through her maiden voyage.
Dale Travis endowed the Sacristan with an endearing
crabbiness, helped by a particularly rascally group of altar boys.
Bass-baritone Christian Van Horn delivered the fugitive Angelotti with a
thunderous tone and a genuinely desperate countenance. Luisotti’s orchestra
played sumptuously, particularly the sweeping strings following Scarpia’s
killing and the many outbursts of brass announcing Scarpia (has anyone short of
Darth Vader had better entrance music?). The set is Thierry Bosquet’s 1997
trompe l’oeil masterpiece, based on a set originally used by SFO in 1923.
Through Dec. 2, alternating casts, War Memorial Opera House,
301 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco. $22-$340, 415/864-3330, wwwsfopera.com.
Images: Melody Moore as Tosca, Roberto Frontali as Scarpia (taken from the wings during the performance). Photos by Kirsten Loken.
Michael J. Vaughn is the author of the novel Operaville,
available at amazon.com.
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