Metropolitan Opera Preview: Tosca

Yes, it's the Met's Luc Bondy production...thankfully for the last time.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

With furniture like this, you might jump too.
Act II of Tosca in the Met's current Luc Bondy production.
Photo © 2015 The Metropolitan Opera.

Add together four sopranos, three tenors, two conductors and one of the most godforsaken opera productions in recent memory at the Metropolitan Opera, and whaddya get? Tosca! With a new production (by Sir David McVicar) scheduled to premiere on Dec. 31, 2017, this is the final, flying leap for the Luc Bondy version of Puccini's most blood-curdling opera. The title role will be split four ways, between sopranos Oksana Dyka, Angela Gheorghiu, Maria Guleghina and  Liuydmila Monastyrska.

Opera Review: A Stubborn Kind of Faith

The Met still believes in Luc Bondy's Tosca.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Scarpia (George Gagnidze, right) puts the moves on Tosca (Patricia Racette) in
the Metropolitan Opera's revival of Puccini's Tosca. 
Photo by Marty Sohl © 2013 The Metropolitan Opera.

With the tedious inevitability of an unloved season, the Metropolitan Opera's current Luc Bondy production of Tosca, received its third revival (in four years) on Tuesday night. This production, which transports Puccini's Roman melodrama into a grim industrial setting better suited to Wozzeck, was roundly booed on opening night in 2009. Despite tweaks, adjustments and (a performance of quality from its leading and supporting cast) it remains a production best seen from the score desks in the Family Circle.

Opera Review: The Redemption of Tosca

A strong cast saves the Met's new production...for now.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Bryn Terfel as Baron Scarpia in Tosca.
Photo by Corey Weaver © 2009 The Metropolitan Opera.

The Metropolitan Opera revived the ill-received Luc Bondy production of Tosca on Wednesday night. Armed with an exceptional cast and expert conducting by Fabio Luisi, the company may yet succeed in changing the public's perception of this production.