Tosca from Washington National Opera closes May 22, 2019. War comes to children, and nowhere is there safety not even in a church such as Rome’s Sant’Andrea della Valle. Even the children, a sweet-singing chorus of choirboys, who try to play in the sanctuary of the church until confronted by the powerful Scarpia and his henchmen, become more than just a chorus. The Sacristan, played with detailed finesse by bass Wei Wu, makes little choices every day, vacillating between good-humored generosity and false piety, whose inability to stand up to authority costs others their lives. His friend the painter Mario Cavaradossi thinks that somehow as an artist he can avoid the conflict around him, but his own sense of loyalty and humanity push him into making choices at the greatest personal sacrifice. He will become one of the victims but also (later) a hero, for he stands up to power and takes his own life rather than succumb to Scarpia’s army of evil.
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The political prisoner, Angelotti (Michael Hewitt) has escaped but knows his chances to get free and clear are slim.
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Puccini dispensed with a full overture, and Conductor Speranza Scappucci gets the most of the composer’s darkest of chords that thrust us into the center of the action. Keri Alkema as Tosca and Alan Held as Scarpia But what struck me the most was the question put to almost every character in the opera in one form or another, “What do you stand for?” The challenge to the individual to stand up to tyranny is made by proxy in the opera to every one of us in the audience. Its themes of sharp political divides, the grab to stay in political power at whatever cost, and the assumed power of sexual conquest by men over women speak to our own times. The opera by Giacomo Puccini is set in 19 th century Rome during a period of political turbulence when Napoleon’s forces went head-to-head with the monarchists. We see such men cropping up everywhere these days: unapologetic, reckless leaders whose lust for power seemingly goes unchecked and who displays only callousness toward those whom they ensnare and make suffer. Held returns in the role and is even more chilling as he incarnates the phenomenon of the reptilian-brained leader to whom society has succumbed. It was very strong then and even had the brilliant Alan Held as the most evil of villains Scarpia. This production was last seen on the Potomac in 2011 when Placido Domingo was still (arguably) affiliated with the Washington National Opera and conducted the work. (l-r) Alan Held as Scarpia, Samson McCrady as Sciarrone, and David Cangelosi as Spoletta in WNO’s Tosca (Photo: Scott Suchman) Tosca at the Washington National Opera has it all. As for relevancy, the tag on the show’s poster read, “In love or war, what do you stand for?” For artists and other citizens worldwide, asking this critical question has grown into a rallying cry and gives art and art-making an urgency now that perhaps for some time had dimmed. All you need for the first are extraordinary musicianship by a conductor, superb singers, and a stage director who can pull out performances of compelling dramatic truth. Never doubt the sheer power or the relevancy of a great work of opera.