Florida Grand Opera

Tosca, March 17th, 2001

The theater was packed and had more people than either Othello or the Barber. Everybody went there to check Deborah Voigt's first assumption of the title role and directed by Renata Scotto, a real treat ! The sets by Robert O'Hearn were conventional (a relief !) but Act 3 could be better (no statue !).

Alas, I wish the direction were was as good as Scotto's performance but I was disappointed ! In the first act, there was no passion between Tosca and Cavarodossi, their love gestures too mechanical ! Worse was Scarpia's entrance where Matthew Best was fixed as a statue and moved like a statue too ! Only in the last Act, that things got a little bit better (Cavaradossi's death well handled) but Voigt jumped out of sight from the audience.

I liked Voigt's first Tosca. As a matter of fact, this is the best role I've seen Voigt perform so far (I saw her Amelia and Lady Macbeth). She has the perfect voice for the role, a big voice, exquisite high notes (powerful and perfectly placed) and the low notes too (a chilling "Muori" at the end of Act 2 and a scornful "Eh avanti a lui tremava tutta Roma"). But she still misses the tenderness and frailty that Tosca has, her Tosca is all fury, since the first entrance you can be sure this Tosca can murder Scarpia, Spoletta and whoever else comes her way ! Her Italian needs some work too. I wish she used more pianissimos (she sang mostly forte and mezzo forte), specially in the lyric scenes (Act 1 and Act 3).

David Maxwell Anderson was a non-entity in this performance. Really bad. The least said the better, constricted top notes (most shouted and even so his top looses volume, it is like a cat shrieking) and no low notes whatsoever. I don't know why the FGO thought he could sing Cavarodossi, a good Spoletta maybe !

Matthew Best has the right voice for the role. I believe he is a bass baritone, because his voice is dark and at the top notes he showed strain. His acting in Act 1 was weak, Act 2 was better, but still he did not convince me as Scarpia. There was no subtlety in his portrayal or in the singing too (for example in Act 1 when he finds the fan, "La Marchessa Attavanti, il suo stemma" his tone was generalized and no piano was used).

Mark McCory was a good Angelotti, the right voice for the role and projected well enough.

Oziel Garza-Ornelas was a good Sacristan and acted well (as did McCory).

Stewart Robertson conducted well enough, but there was a lack of fire (specially in Act 2) in the more tense moments in the score. A routine conducting. The orchestra and chorus fared well.

A Tosca without Cavaradossi and half of a Scarpia cannot be good, but Voigt was a pleasure to listen to.