Semperoper Dresden. Puccini’s Tosca. May 20, 2019.

Semperoper Dresden.  Parkett Links (Seat R11-P10, 94 euros).

Story.  See previous blog.

Conductor – Stefano Ranzani.  Tosca – Hui He, Cavaradossi – Andeka Gorrotxategi, Scarpia – John Lundgren, Angelotti – Chao Deng.

 Inside the opera building.

I was made aware of this opera house by someone from my high school.  A search of the web indicated that Semper was the architect of the house first built in 1841, employing an eclectic combination of styles including Greek Corinthian, Baroque, and Renaissance.  It was destroyed by fire in 1869, and rebuilt in 1878 in Neo-Renaissance style.  This was largely destroyed by the Dresden bombing of 1945.  It re-opened 40 years later, with the outside almost exactly the same as before, but a modernized interior.

We traveled from Berlin to Dresden this morning, and seemed to have traveled back in time by many decides.  The backwaters feeling was further compounded by the blackened local sandstone which evidently was used quite extensively in the other impressive Theaterplatz.

The auditorium felt ornate, especially compared to what we just experienced in Deutsche Oper Berlin.  The detailed artwork all over are dedicated to various artists.

Our seats were again close to the stage, so we heard the voices very well.  I enjoyed the well-known arias, as well as some of the “dialog” in the opera.  The several motifs that are associated with the various characters were used repeatedly, to good effect.  He was a bit off in Vissi d’arte, although she still managed to get across the emotion quite well.  Gorrotxategi could have delivered a stronger “E lucevan le stelle.”  Instead of acceptance, I wanted more of “screaming at fate.”  Scarpia did well in that he probably made the audience hate him.  The orchestra – again not visible from where we sat – sounded great.

 End of Act 1 where the sinister singing of Scarpia sounded particularly evil against the pious singing of a church service.

From left are: Conductor Ranzani, Tosca, Caravadossi, Scarpia Boy soprano, ...

The sets were also on the simple end of the spectrum.  For the first two acts (church, and Scarpia’s dining room) three panels are used, for the last act the middle panel was taken away.  Accessories are added as appropriate.  These panels probably helped to reflect the sound of the singers.

It was a crisp evening (around 60F).  We stopped by Nordsee to grab a quick dinner before heading to the performance.