A TOSCA TO REMEMBER FOREVER


Opera San Jose presents……
TOSCA


When love is not madness, it is not love.
Pedro Calderon de la Barca

Opera San Jose’s production of TOSCA will not disappoint on any level thanks in part to Sandra Bengochea’s inspired stage direction. It is all there: the voices, the wonderfully elegant, sets, the costuming that adds without detracting and that magnificent score that has spoken volumes to us all for over two centuries. “TOSCA presents a very universal subject, which we as appreciators of art see in all great operas,” says Bengochea. “It portrays the huge conflict between revolutionary and traditional worldviews.”

Indeed, every opera lover has seen hundreds of “Tosca’s” but I promise not one of them will have seen a more moving, beautifully rendered production of this opera than that created by Opera San Jose. Their TOSCA is a perfect blend of virtuosity, opulence and pathos that this moving story gives to us all.

The story of what we will do for love, the music that fills your heart and brings tears to your eyes…all are timeless. The setting is Rome in June, 1800 just as Napoleon is defeated and the powers that rule have been overturned. TOSCA is the tale of love meeting the ultimate test. It must be sung and acted with extraordinary passion to convince us that what we see and hear on that stage is real. Jouvanca Jean-Baptiste sings Tosca with heart. Her voice is thrilling and its passion real. Her lover, Mario Cavaradossi is sung by Alexander Boyers with a Spinto tenor voice in the tradition of Domingo and Gigli. Conductor David Rohrbaugh is Opera San Jose’s founding Music Director and does a masterful job of never overpowering the voices and yet letting the music add the atmosphere and the tension of this plot of lust, intrigue and murder done for love. “ TOSCA is a passionate melodrama, romantic, and powerful. ,” he says. “The exceptionally melodic areas are some of the most stunning and beguiling in operatic literature…Throughout the opera, every emotion is heightened.”

TOSCA has become one of the most popular of all operas since its premier in 1900, and this production in San Jose will make you understand why it is considered such an operatic treasure. The music is divine (and that is an understatement). Opera San Jose has made it easier to remember those melodic arias you are still humming as the curtain descends because their titles are listed in order under each act in the program. When Cavaradossi and Tosca sing Qual’occhio, your heart melts and you wish someone loved you like that. When Tosca murders Scarpia and sings Vissi d’arte, you think “Hooray!!! Tosca!!”. But when you get home, you wonder “What was that marvelous melody I loved so much in the first act?” You open your program and there it is.

The supertitles in this performance are pure poetry. They are written with an eye to the mood and the meaning of the libretto. Yet, they are unobtrusive, brief and clear. We want to understand the story of course, but really we are there for that music. “The spectacular California Theatre is the ideal venue for this wonderful production,” says Rohrbaugh. “The proximity of the audience makes them feel as a witness of the story – and what a story to witness!”

Irene Dalis is to be praised to the skies for producing one masterpiece after another, showcasing young talented and professional singers soon to become the international stars of tomorrow. Her standards are high and she never compromises quality in every opera on her stage. TOSCA is a production not to be missed; it is unforgettable.

There are two casts that alternate in this production. Previous experience assures me that the audience will not be disappointed with either.

TOSCA continues through November 28 at The California Theatre, 345 South First Street, San Jose. Tickets $51-$101: 409 437 4450; www.operasj.org.