#7 — REVIEW | CURRAN'S TOSCA IS AN UNASHAMED FEAST
An original COC production sticks the landing
by DR. JANE FORNER
Paul Curran’s Tosca, familiar to the COC since its premiere in 2008, leaves a lasting impression regardless of the quality of the performance. This season’s revival, which opened on Friday May 5th, offered a sparkling cast that brought all its dramatic richness to life. As the first time seeing this production live, I was struck by its ability to offer a classic, period design replete in archetypal operatic splendour that nonetheless manages to bring out nuances of the plot through a sensitive eye. The design for each act always makes remarkable use of shadow and chiaroscuro alongside a rich, warm palette and sumptuous décor, with my immediate impression being of a Van Eyck or Vermeer interior painting. The contrast of luxurious furnishings with black-and-white square tiling in Act II particularly brought my mind to the Flemish Renaissance. I was captivated especially by how well the lighting was managed throughout by Lighting Designer David Martin Jacques. A small point to some perhaps, but lighting is a signature concern of Curran’s production, and one that consistently created a remarkable visual atmosphere: shafts of greyish light filtering through the gloom of Sant’ Andrea of Act I, the appearance of an almost dusty and misty air enhancing the intrigue of the beginning of the drama. In Act II, the construction of Scarpia’s villainous (but sumptuously decorated) lair leans into, on the one hand, warm contrasts of gold, cream, black, and brown, and blueish moonlight at the curtains on the other. ── CONTINUE READING
SPONSORED | Víkingur Ólafsson
The acclaimed Icelandic pianist performs stunning arrangement of “Ave María” by Sigvaldi Kaldalóns – from his 2022 album From Afar – on isolated island of Engey, near Reykjavík.