The Shabbiest of Shockers

I have always disagreed with Joseph Kerman's famous assessment of Tosca as being Puccini's "shabby little shocker" (Opera as Drama 1956). When well done it can be the most exciting of operas - the drama of the Te Deum, Scarpia's pursuit of the frightened Tosca ending in his stabbing death and that final leap from the battlements - this is the stuff of great theatre - when well done!

Last evening at the Baths of Caracalla Teatro dell'Opera di Roma seemed bent into proving Kerman right and presented us with the shabbiest of shockers. This will have to go down as one of the worst evenings I've spent at the opera and only the second time in 57 years that I have left before the end of a performance. And though most of the members of our party remained I was not alone on my escape walk to the exit - there was a general exodus towards the Via Appia just after Tosca killed Scarpia with a well placed crucifix to the old Scarpian family jewels.

Yes you did read that right. Poor old Scarpia died not from multiple stab wounds but from a smack in the cullones! And this was just one of director Franco Ripa di Meana's many "innovations". Other fascinating concepts included turning Scarpia into a prelate of the church which meant that the stage was frequently filled with phalanxes of black soutaned priests bearing down relentlessly on the principals. Oh I get it the oppression of the church - very cutting edge but I still question turning the celebratory Te Deum into the auto-de-fe scene from Don Carlo. And the burst of flames and fiery cross that closed ACT I last all off 2 seconds and mostly blinded the audience not astounded them. And why exactly was Tosca costumed like a 19th century hooch dancer - slit skirt, bustier and all - surely Queen Caroline had a stricter court protocol than that? And wasn't it rather louche of her to walk on Scarpia's dinner table. And since when was Cavaradossi a pavement artist spreading his canvases out on the floor and having them walked on by thoughtless sacristans? And what was with that murder? First she hit him in the stones with the crucifix then she brandished it at him like a vampire killer. And rather than the drama of the placement of candles around the body and the retrieve of the liaise-passe from the hands of the dead man she picked it up off the table and she escaped through the audience - to a round of applause that destroyed the climax of Puccini's music - as an platoon of priests bore down on the corpse. "Sadly" I did not see what "improvements'" had been thought up for Act 3 but I'm sure it was just as original.

Edoardo Sanchi's set was a gigantic map of Rome with the locales of the opera circled in red. And once again it was one of those singers' nightmares - ramps and rakes of various levels always great fun to negotiate in elaborate costumes. It was the first sign that we were in for an evening of "innovations".

Now all of this would have been acceptable if it had been possible to close your eyes and listen to incredible singing - though given the "wrong-headedness" there may not be singers alive who could make it acceptable. I never take pleasure in criticizing singers - theirs is a difficult profession and in many ways an ephemeral one. So believe me I take little or no joy in what follows. Aside from having to fight some of the most hideous costumes ever created poor Michaela Carosi spent a good deal of the evening fighting to stay in tune. At several points I was reminded of a comment made during a performance of Fidelio by my friend John: if that woman screams at us one more time I'm going to stand up and scream back. I would have spent a good time standing and screaming at Madame Carosi which would have made for a duet of out of tune voices, Fabio Armiliato is a singer I admire but he must have been having an off night - the sounds he produced where throaty and at points he sounded strained. He was not helped by having to singing Recondita armonia in a prone position. His Vittoria! Vittoria! was thrilling but does not a Cavaradossi make. Giorigo Surian made a generalized Scarpia - the voice is more bass than baritone and was swamped by the orchestra on more than one occasion. The remainder of the cast did nothing to make up for the deficiencies displayed by the principals. The normally exceptional Opera chorus was having a bad night - the underpowered Te Deum was a real disappointment. And even the children's chorus were more members of some penitent youth organization than merry, prank playing choir boys. The miking was not particularly successful and on several occasions static and voice placement went awry. Paolo Olmi led a routine performance bringing no special insights into the peace and the orchestra gave a yeoman service but again the miking seemed slightly awry.

When the evening began there were empty blocks of seats - obviously not sold and with each entr'acte those numbers increased. The comments heard from people leaving were less than complimentary. I had heard some comments while waiting in line at Santa Cecelia the other day about how dreadful this Tosca was so word of mouth is spreading through the city. That and a declining tourist trade could account for those blocks of empty seats. And a production as bad as this accounts for the growing number with each intermission.

Arts money is tight here in Italia - most budgets have been cut 30% - and it is sad to think so many people will go away thinking this is the best that Roma can do. This a company that has a beautiful (and dramatic) Zeffirelli Tosca in its repertory along with some very fine productions of both standard and little known works. This is a company that gives adventuresome seasons, like the one currently in progress. This is a company where Riccardo Muti has conducted Otello and Iphigenia in Aulide in the past year and is scheduled to lead Nabucco and Idomeneo in the next. Despite what the Caracalla Tosca could lead you to believe it is not an inconsequential company - but sadly this is the impression many people will carry away with them.

PS: I felt particularly bad for several of our group who were coming to an opera for the first time. This was a sorry introduction and certainly didn't give them much encouragement to give it another try.

17 luglio - Sant'Alessio

Mercoledi Musicale

*My good friend Parsi, with whom if as there was is a goddess in heaven I'd I'll be having dinner and concert going this coming Saturday in Corinth but sadly it is not to be because as I don't now have a babysitter for the kids, had the good fortunate to be at one of those evenings that will go down in operatic history. I could forgive him for that but then a few nights ago he also caught Helen Mirren in Phaedra at the wonderful Theatre in Epidaurus. Parsi , if you weren't so "adorable"....

Appropriately on the 4th of July Yankee Diva Joyce DiDonato was singing Rosina as part of an all-star cast in Rossini's Barber of Seville at London's Royal Opera House. During one particularly hectic moment in the frantic staging she tripped and sprained her ankle - or so it appeared. She went on to sing the rest of the performance using a crutch. But it turns out it was more than a simple sprain. She has sang the rest of the performances from a wheelchair.

But it's probably better to let the lady herself tell you the complete story but only after you've heard her as Rosina standing on her own two feet. Here she is with her frequent partner the wonderful Juan Diego Florez, showing both her vocal and comedic skills.



So here's Joyce's taking on the evening of the 4th and the adventure that followed at the next performance. We are sure as hell talking Yankee pluck here!

Brava for the Diva!

The photograph of Ms DiDonato en fauteuil roulant is taken from her blog and is the work of the very talented Neil Gillespie.


*God help me I am starting to write like an Italian ballet critic!

15 luglio - San Bonaventura da Bagnoregio

I'll Try and Explain

Several of my blog buddies have been asking what exactly the fuss was about yesterday here in Italy. Why the "strike" and what exactly were bloggers "striking" for or against.

As I mentioned I do not get involved in politics here or normally voice an opinion on them - as a guest I do not have either the right or the gall to do so. But here is a bit of background and a quote which I hope will shed some light on the matter.

Il disegno di legge Alfano, is a complicated piece of legislation and my take on it is perforce simplistic. Many feel that it will compromise the work of the judiciary here to fight organized crime. It would impose gags of one type or other on information and imposes fines on journalists and publishers for "misinformation" which is not "rectified" within a set period of time. It has been extended to include information of any type disseminated on the internet.

The following is a translation of an item that appeared on Diritto di critica (Right to Criticize):

The latest criticism came finally from the net. The DDL is also the talk of the Internet. As already mentioned in a previous post, the text introduces Ordinance l "the obligation" to correct any item on request of an 'offended' person within 48 hours, otherwise there will be a fine imposed from 7500 to € 12,000 which applies to all owners of information sites. It also reintroduces the offense of incitement to civil disobedience, by which it will be possible without the intervention of the Judiciary, to intimidate and silence any voice of dissent.

Guido Scorza, lawyer, journalist, blogger and expert on right to information and new technologies, says that with this rule will be touch social networks like My Space or Facebook, but also video and search sites such as Youtube and Google, not to mention the millions of those blogging. The lawyer says that in the ddl Alfano the government wishes to expand the "right to correct" which now apply to the press and TV to all information services. ..... The journalist sees it as an act of intimidation, designed to frighten and to shock with exorbitant fines, the millions of Internet users and bloggers who write, disseminate, or even share information and video networking, consequently forcing them to close.

Beppe Giulietti, parliamentarian, journalist and founder of the website Article 21, gives a very similar reading and also lists three areas where the decree violates existing laws:

1. The proposed rule is in violation of one of the fundamental principles expressed in our Constitution (Article 21 Constitution) that allows the free expression of thought in all its forms except in the case of any activity contrary to morality.
2. In the case of information conveyed through sites as "non-traditional", the standard in force (art. 16 D. Lgs. 70/2003) states that the service provider (hoster) is not responsible for the content stored unless it is illegal content. "Illegal content" means content that is contrary to the law: content that is not truthful or harmful to another person is not always "illegal".
3. Article 10 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which enshrines the right to freedom of expression, among which we mention the freedom to receive information (from sources of news), is protected from interference by public authority.

Again I cannot begin to unravel the various threads that complicate this whole question as with most things political here it is neither black or white; nor can I presume to voice an opinion about it. I took part yesterday as a show of support for the many blogger friends I have here and I thank all my friends in other places who voiced their support.

15 luglio - San Bonaventura da Bagnoregio

Bloggisti unite!*

*Bloggers Unite!

Though, for obvious reasons, I do not normally get involved nor comment on Italian politics or government policies I am with Italian bloggers on this one.

On July 14, 2009, Italian bloggers will muzzle themselves in the Web as well as in Piazza Navona in Rome, at 7PM where they will meet to protest against an Italian government bill (the Alfano decree) introducing a number of new rules which will limit the freedom of expression in Italian internet. The so-called "obligation to rectify" imposed to the manager of an information site (blogs, social networks such as Facebook, Twitter etc) [....] download english version.pdf

14 luglio - San Camillo de Lellis

So Where The Hell Have I Been?

I was happy to see my blog buddy Speck (that would be she in younger days at the left) over at Worms, Puppies, Barbecue had posted a little item earlier today for the first time in about a month. I immediately added a comment telling her how much I had missed her posts.

Now I knew she had gotten into sketching and many of her posts at WPB were cartoons and sketches but somehow I had missed the fact that she now has a sketch blog!!!!! So a good deal of this morning was spent scrolling through all the goodies I had missed at Speck's Sketch Blog. She's a talented and a funny lady. I recommend taking a look in - and I've added her to my daily check list.

Sorry Speck don't know where the hell I was when you announced the new (?) blog.

13 lulgio - Sant'Enrico II del Sacro Romano Impero

Lunedi Lunacy

I was talking with my friend John in Ottawa on Saturday and it looks like if it doesn't stop raining they may just consider a sacrifice - provided a virgin of either sex can be found.



13 luglio - Sant'Enrico II del Sacro Roman Impero

GPV for the Week

I will let the video explain itself.



And yes Marco that is me doing the narration!

10 lulgio - San Silvano

Signs of the Times

I always knew that Constance Bay was a recreational paradise... I just didn't know how inclusive that recreation was!

It appears that the City of Ottawa sign painters left one of the panels blank so a thoughtful citizen filled it in for them.

10 luglio - San Silvano

Finger Painting

I'm constantly amazed by what creative people can do with computer programmes. Its not that I'm computer illiterate but I've had Adobe Suite sitting on the desktop for several years now and all I ever use is basic Photoshop. You know the sort of stuff - auto colour/contrast/levels and resize for web.

But over at The New Yorker, Jorge Colombo shows what he can do with Brushes on his IPhone with what he calls finger painting. A click through the videos there shows his amazing talent.

Hell I couldn't do that with real finger paints!

08 lulgio - Sant'Adriano Papa

Mercoledi Musicale

For some reason saying goodbye has been on my mind a great deal lately.



Though she is best known as the ice queen Lilith on Frazier, Bebe Neuwirth has always been a song and dance girl. Star of the Broadway revival of Chicago and the upcoming Addams Family, she also knows her way around an old standard.

08 lulgio - San Pancrazio di Taormina