Review: (Ottawa) Tosca (Opera)

Michele Capalbo (photo by Andrew Alexander)

Tosca : Love and Jealousy

by Jim Murchison

Due to an unpredictable circumstance I ended up seeing the second night of Tosca rather than opening night. As it turned out, that allowed me to see the original cast as it was intended to be performed. A medical emergency in the Opera Lyra company had required a radical improvisation on Saturday's opening night in the grand tradition of the show must go on. 

Review: (Victoria) Tosca

Joni Henson and Luc Robert  (photo Emily Cooper)

Tosca the Pantomime
This Accessible Opera is Melodramatic and Simplistic
by Spencer Malthouse

The villain drives Pacific Opera Victoria’s latest production of Tosca. Baron Scarpia (David John Pike) commands the stage, the plot, and the fate of the lovers. As the other actors fall flat, Pike steals the show. 

The artist Cavaradossi (Luc Robert) sings well enough about his love for Floria Tosca (Joni Henson) but the two have no chemistry.  Henson has a gorgeous voice but her acting is over-the-top and melodramatic. Even if we believe that Tosca inadvertently caused the drama of the play, I’m not sure that the audience should quite so eagerly anticipate her death. 

Review: (Toronto) Tosca

COC offers the Tried and True...and Delivers
Tosca sounds and looks beautiful
by Axel Van Chee


Considered to be one of the most innovative and adventurous of all the opera companies in North America, it is interesting, and refreshing to see the Canadian Opera Company putting up a no-nonsense, traditional Tosca. After all, every opera house needs to balance its budget, and the COC is no exception to the rule. This is especially true with its upcoming, ambitious 2012- 2013 season (you really should check it out if you have not, it is alarmingly delightful), the COC needs all the money it can muster.