It's an event that draws many thousands of music lovers to Verona every
summer: the opera season at the ancient Roman Arena. One of the highlights
of the 2006 season was the riveting production of Puccini's "Tosca" by
Argentine director Hugo de Ana. Nearly 15,000 spectators regularly filled
the amphitheater for the performances of the Puccini favorite with a
stellar cast - Fiorenza Cedolins, Marcelo Álvarez and Ruggero Raimondi -
under the baton of Daniel Oren.
This recording captures the magical atmosphere of Verona's Arena: the balmy
night air, the starry sky, the grandiose pageant of sumptuous sets and
costumes, the awe-inspiring effects of light and sound - including guns and
cannons in this production marked by a stylized realism. At the center of
De Ana's stage concept is a giant replica of the head of the "Angelo di
Castello", an 18th-century bronze statue of the archangel Michael holding a
sword. After being restored, it was recently returned to its place atop the
Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome, where the third act of the opera takes place.
"An altogether perfect staging, with the director exploiting to the fullest
the vast space of the amphitheater and designing grandiose scenes and
magnificent costumes," wrote Italian daily Corriere della Sera.
Amidst the surreal procession of bishops, the great wave of soldiers
marching across the stage, and the cannons booming in the background, which
symbolize the ever-present horror of the war, Fiorenza Cedolins holds her
own as a powerful yet supremely feminine Tosca. Argentine tenor Marcelo
Álvarez, one of the top tenors of his generation, interprets Tosca's lover,
the artist Cavaradossi, with melting lyricism and fierce passion. And as
the villainous police chief Scarpia, the great Ruggero Raimondi brings a
diabolical intensity to the mellow inflections of his baritone voice.
Daniel Oren leads the orchestra and chorus of the Arena di Verona with
verve and a powerful presence.
