Winners and losers in Austria’s Tosca wars
NewsReviews of the semi-staged Tosca in Graz, starring Kristine Opolais and Jonas Kaufmann, have been ecstatic.
Those for Salzburg’s production with Mrs and Mr Netrebko are less thrilled.
Graz, however, had a last minute-hitch when the third member of its dream team, the Welsh baritone Bryn Terfel, cried off after the dress rehearsal with reported vocal issues.
Salzburg’s Scarpia, Ludovic Tézier, made the long drive down to replace him – then drove back for his next date with the Netrebkos.
Who sings Graz’s next Scarpia tomorrow is anyone’s guess.
I watched the Graz Tosca and share the “ecstatic” views of your linked review. I can’t think of a better Tosca cast for today. The semi-staged action in a narrow space in front of the orchestra was very effective and helped us concentrate on the music. The audience were lucky to have Tezier as the Scarpia replacement. A great singer and actor with none of the rolling-eyes exaggeration many bring to this rôle. It was interesting that the “vin d’Espagna” he offers Tosca was from a bottle of the great, but decidedly Italian, Barolo!! Finally, it was surprising but welcome – given his magnificent performance – to hear Kaufmann give us an encore of “E lucevan le stelle” !
Opolais is a terrible Tosca and a terrible singer today… I could not understand one word that she was singing (was she actually singing in Italian??) and her wobbly and rotten voice was very hard to listen to.
As for Kaufmann doing an encore of E lucevan… really every time he is singing this role, no matter how he is singing it – just ridiculous!
Bravo for Tezier!
I’ve never understood the appeal of Opolais, whose voice I’ve always found slight and whose acting is the same.
She has got good bones , good clothes and an excellent Insta page. Probably also good agents, otherwise she would be starving.
In fact, Kristine Opolais is something of a survivor. Her career was almost over after her separation from Andris Nelsons some years ago and after the vocal burnout caused by oversinging at the Met . She has recovered a little bit since then , she has changed her management and planned some changes of repertoire too ( tackling some Verdi). In the meantime , she has managed to preserve her fan base by doing modelling /aerobics on Instagram and posting oldies but goldies “Jonas&Kristine” videos . This round of Toscas must be the true relaunching of her career. I wish her .
Good luck.
This is NOT a war, for crying out loud. These are two opera houses in a country with many of them staging the same opera at the same time. That has happened before, even in Berlin, where two opera houses had the same opera at the same time. Kindly stop sensationalizing this everyday occurrance.
Wiener Staatsoper opens on 03 September with … guess what: the 1958 production of “Tosca”! It has never missed a season since its premiere and has been shown well over 600 times. No big names – Giannattasio, Sartori, Schrott. No surprise it is not selling well.
I watched the Graz ”Tosca” exclusively for some Kaufmann ham. There was plenty. Yummy. Apart from that, he was in good voice and sang ”E lucevan …” twice ( what a shock!) : the first time, quite decently, the second time , he hammed it up magnificently. Cheers. The bony , dry-voiced Tosca Opolais and the vile Scarpia Tezier were of no interest to me.
Scarpia is supposed to be vile.
Tastes differ. I’d go out of my way to see/hear Tézier. Ham, delightful though it may be, is best served up on a plate, preferably with a side salad or something to make it more interesting. I don’t care for it in opera even though the art form sometimes cries out for it!
Do not let me be misunderstood. The show didn’t lack in Tezier ham, but I was after Kaufmann ‘s( the juiciest IMHO, but tastes differ.)So, help yourself.
Tastes differ. I’d go out of my way to see/hear Tézier. Ham, delightful though it may be, is best served up on a plate, preferably with a side salad or something to make it more interesting. I do not care for it in opera, even though the art form sometimes cries out for it!
For a city like Graz, with a population of circa 280,000, to have its own opera house is quite an achievement all by itself!!!
I can only assume that you have never travelled through Austria, where we have three full-time opera houses in Wien, as well as opera companies in Graz, Linz, Salzburg (a year-round Landestheater in addition to the festival campus), Innsbruck, Klagenfurt, Bregenz (also a Landestheater in addition to the festival), Feldkirch, and Eisenstadt.
If this is a war, Tezier will get in deep trouble for fighting for both sides.
I’d drive any distance to hear Tezier sing. He has a wonderful voice!