Amal Choucri Catta applauds Cairo Opera House's revival of Tosca Tosca, Cairo Opera Company, cond Nader Abbassi, director Abdallah Saad. Sets and costumes Salvatore Russo, choirmaster Aldo Magnato. Main Hall, Cairo Opera House, 25 to 30 March, 8 pm Tosca has been packing in audiences since its premiere in Rome's Costanzi Theatre on 14 January 1900. Puccini's three acts are based on a five-act drama by Victorien Sardou written specially for Sarah Bernhardt. It is a dark tale of violence and torture, hypocrisy and jealousy, murder, execution and suicide and the libretto by Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica retained the violence of the original. Tosca is no newcomer to Cairo Opera's Main Hall: it was first performed from 9 to 16 December, 1991, by the Mattia Battistini Opera, directed by Franca Valeri, with the Cairo Symphony Orchestra conducted by Maurizio Rinaldi, and the entire cast from Italy, including Alberto Mastromarino in the role of Scarpia. Tosca was given a second outing on the main stage when a local production was premiered two years ago. With an Egyptian and Italian cast directed by Abdallah Saad, the Cairo Opera Orchestra conducted by Giorgio Croci and sets and costumes designed by Salvatore Russo the production, scheduled for four nights in April 2002, had Iman Mustafa in the title role, Walid Korayem as Cavaradossi, Abdel-Wahab El-Sayed as Abgelotti, and Elhami Amin as the sacristan. It was then revived in the Main Hall in October of the same year with David Crescenzi at the head of the Opera Orchestra and, for the first time, baritones Mustafa Mohamed and Alfio Grasso sharing the role of Scarpia. The current production saw Barbara Costa in the title role. Tosca, celebrated prima donna, is in love with the painter Mario Cavaradossi, sung by the popular tenor Walid Korayem. Cavaradossi is accused of helping an escaped political prisoner, Count Angelotti, sung by Abdel-Wahab El-Sayed with strong, expressive timbre. Scarpia, the sadistic chief of police, was performed on opening night by Mohamed Mustafa, and shared for the rest of the run with Alfio Grasso, whose subtly inflected interpretation turned the character into an elegant bon viveur, seemingly without a care in the world. Mustafa's interpretation, on the other hand, was more obstinate. His Scarpia was a relentlessly bitter tyrant. Scarpia is one of opera's most chilling psychopaths. Secretly in love with Tosca he will stop at nothing to gain her attention. Blackmail, torture, rape, it's all par for the course for Scarpia who determines to use Tosca's blind jealousy to lead both her and her lover, Cavaradossi, to their downfall. Having met Tosca in the church of Sant' Andrea della Valle, where preparations are underway for a mass prematurely celebrating Austria's victory over Napoleon at the battle of Marengo, he draws her attention to a white fan found that morning in the adjacent Attavanti chapel. The fan belongs to Marchesa Attavanti, who has been posing for a portrait of Maria Magdalena, painted by Cavaradossi, and Scarpia manages to convince Tosca that her lover has run off with the Marchesa. Crying traitor, the insanely jealous Tosca rushes out of the church, determined to surprise Cavaradossi at his villa. Act 1 closes with a majestic Te Deum with choir boys, young priests and nuns holding lighted candles as the congregation is blessed. Cairo Opera Orchestra, under Nader Abbassi, rose to the occasion, bringing the scene to an exalted climax as the curtains slowly fell on Scarpia kneeling before the church's holy fathers. The evil chief of police, despite his devotions, is in hot pursuit of Angelotti. Act 2 opens as he is dining at a candle-lit table in Farnese Palace. He receives a report from his assistant, Spoletta (Tamer Tewfik) who, unable to find Angelotti at Cavaradossi's villa, arrests the painter and brings him to the palace. As Rome celebrates the victory over Napoleon Tosca sings a cantata for victory as her lover Cavaradossi, in reality a clandestine freedom fighter, is accused of treason by Scarpia. When Tosca arrives the painter manages to whisper to her that Scarpia knows nothing of Angelotti's whereabouts and he beseeches her not to divulge anything. In one of the most dramatic scenes of the opera Cavaradossi is interrogated and tortured in an adjacent chamber as Scarpia questions Tosca. The music swells and the painter's screams drown Tosca's pleas for mercy. Scarpia knows she will break and finally she does, revealing Angelotti's hiding place in the dried-up well of Cavaradossi's villa. Released from the torture chamber and brought before Scarpia, Cavaradossi realises Tosca has betrayed his friend. Moments later news of Napoleon's final victory at Marengo reaches Scarpia's chambers and Cavaradossi sings a triumphant hymn to victory after which he is escorted from the palace and told he will be executed in the morning. Tosca finally realises that her blind jealousy has brought about her lover's downfall. Reviewing her life, she sings the famous lyric Vissi d'arte, vissi d'amore, I have lived for art, for love. It is one of the loveliest arias in the entire drama and Barbara Costa was in excellent voice. Her delivery was greeted with cheers from the audience. Her suffering, though, has only just begun. Scarpia offers her a bargain: he is willing to organise a sham execution and grant her and Cavaradossi a safe-conduct pass enabling them to leave the country on condition she agrees to yield to him now, in these very chambers. She agrees, but realising she could never go through with her side of the bargain she stabs him with a knife from the table after he has written out the passes. Plunging the knife into his chest she screams, "Take a kiss from Tosca," then flees the scene of the murder with the passes Scarpia has just issued. The music comes to a dramatic close as the audience sighed with relief at the downfall of Mustafa's version of Scarpia. The curtain to the third act rises as dawn lightens the roof of the Castle of Sant' Angelo and the song of a young shepherd is heard off stage. Cavaradossi is allowed a short interlude to prepare for his death. Writing a farewell note to Tosca he sings the wonderful aria E lucevan le stelle, stars are brightly shining. Tosca arrives waving the safe-conducts, falls into his arms and tells him how she killed Scarpia, explaining that he will have to go through a mock-execution. Led by Spoletta, the soldiers come marching in, the squad fires, Cavaradossi falls and they depart. Tosca rushes to her lover only to realise that she has been once again double- crossed by Scarpia and Cavaradossi is lying dead, at her feet. Napoleon's victory may have turned Scarpia's henchmen into fugitives but Spoletta nonetheless is determined to arrest Tosca. He attempts to seize her but she wrenches herself free and, in despair, leaps to her death over the parapet. As the orchestra thundered out the painter's farewell chords the soldiers stood as the final curtain descended to loud ovations. Excellent directing, excellent conducting, excellent sets and costumes -- with the exception of Tosca's baby-pink dress in the first act -- this Tosca was a real event. And the audience, once again, approved.
