One word describes the WNO's current revival of 'Tosca': dull. The star of the evening was to be the Portuguese soprano Elisabete Matos, famous for her interpretation of Tosca and for her steely dramatic voice. Sadly, once again, The Mayflower received an understudy from the WNO who failed to sparkle. A glance at Naomi Harvey's credits reveals the issue. She doesn't have the right vocal type to sing Tosca, excelling in roles from earlier period operas such as by Mozart. Harvey was underpowered throughout and had serious weaknesses in her lower register, while the upper register also remained insecure. 'Vissi D'arte' was sung with little emotion and her overall interpretation completely failed to convince. Geraint Dodd's geriatric Cavaradossi was even worse. Dodd's voice is just not up to the task, and his diction is poor. Dodd's voice is little more than a whisper at times and his upper notes were painful and coarse. Any inclinations towards acting were sadly lost on Dodd, although he did manage to die convincingly, perhaps the best part of his performance. Robert Hayward who gave a wonderful performance as Mazepa here a few years ago was sadly miscast as Scarpia. Like Harvey and Dodd, Hayward wasn't vocally comfortable with his role showing particular strain in the upper register. His Scarpia was just too pleasant too and failed to instil fear. The only member of the cast who stands out is Cárthaigh Quill's Spoletta which is finely sung with great clarity. New musical director of the WNO Lothar Koenigs handles Puccini's score with all the subtlety of a sledge hammer. Yes 'Tosca' is dramatic, but other aspects do call for a softer touch such as the beautiful love duet in Act 1. Ashley Martin-Davis's designs remain as shabby and bizarre as ever, and the work of revival director Benjamin Davis is difficult to spot. This had great potential, but when Tosca fails to turn up.who cares?
Jonathan Crump
Hampshire