Tosca in Szeged
Zsuzanna reports . . . .
José Cura�s Shining Cavaradossi Portrayal in Szeged, Hungary
28th and 30th April of 2009
After his remarkable success in Otello last year in the National Theatre of Szeged, José Cura came to the town this year again in his best form to present his Cavaradossi portrayal in Puccini�s Tosca on 28th and 30th of April. A nice press conference preceded the events with José Cura that marked the comparison of his two significant roles, Otello and Cavaradossi. First of all José thanked the theatre for the invitation saying that his home in Hungary is Szeged. He drew a comparison between operas and wines; Tosca is like a white wine, while Otello is like a red wine. He also likes Tokaji [the gem of white wines of Hungary], but he prefers red wines. He explained that Cavaradossi was a great and difficult role, but it didn�t require as extreme endurance and all the psychological inner turmoil and torture as which was needed in Otello. �After Cavaradossi you take off your make up and you are a happy man, but after Otello you are tired�.
Enjoying two great opera evenings with José Cura in Tosca – I can confirm that not only he but the whole theatre was pleased and fascinated by his fulfillment. Our matinee�like enjoyment reflected the fact that the difference in difficulties of these two roles also exists for the audience. Though we had to bear very strong dramatic tensions during Puccini�s piece, Tosca is much easier to eat than Otello. José Cura demonstrated that the common features in his account of the roles are that unique quality and complexity with which he is able to handle his characters and recall exceptional artistic values, theatrical and musical intensity. Both evenings of Tosca were fantastic and cathartic experiences and earned long-lasting celebrations and standing ovations from the audience. On the second evening the singers gave us an almost bonus like reward achieving an even more evolved performance and penetrating success. We witnessed and participated again in such events, where José Cura�s talent, matured artistic richness and ardour thrilled the partners, the whole production and audience while he carried the show on his shoulders.
José Cura found excellent and enthusiastic partners in Eszter Sümegi�s Tosca, Zoltán Kelemen�s Scarpia and in the whole ensemble and audience of the theatre. This production of the Szeged theatre (directed by Mária Angyal) fitted well to the environment of this small but very comfortable and beautifully built theatre. The stage was very compact and conveyed a harmonic, historical atmosphere for the different plots giving also enough place for the actors. A spacious stone chapel in the church, a rich, well-constructed reception room of Scarpia headquarters in the Palace, finally a starry, night firmament above the strongly-built courtyard of the bastions with the dome of a proud basilica in the background served the main sceneries of the drama. Even Cavaradossi stopped for a moment to take pleasure in the light of the stars from the bastion before he had to look death in the face in the last Act. The costumes of the protagonists were also very talkative and beautifully composed according to the characters� needs and attributes.
The couple of the opera, José Cura and Eszter Sümegi are made for each other very naturally. Though I knew it would be almost impossible to recall that kind of inimitable integrity that José Cura and Maria Guleghina achieved in March and April in the Staatsoper�s Tosca production in Vienna, in Szeged they came very close to that magic. It was a really admirable achievement since apart from a short gala-performance in Budapest back in 2002 this was the first time when Cura and Sümegi met with each other on the opera stage.
José Cura formed and sang his characteristic Cavaradossi portrayal with utmost pleasure and freedom, in a very relaxed style paying also great attention and affection to his unpredictably jealous lover, Tosca. He had the perfect romantic, youthful and heroic look in his appearance on the stage. From the moment he entered into the stage and started his very natural play with the Sacristan, with his brushes and Marchesa Attavanti�s portray, we felt at once we would enjoy a magnificent performance. Then he turned toward us gently in front of his painting while sat down to the steps to express the painter�s sincere feelings in �Recondita armonia��. He just enjoyed the way as the music was absorbed by his body and the muscles projected the notes freely into continuous, almost infinite, dazzling musical phrases on his balmy, very fresh and shining tenor voice. The second half of the aria found him again walking on the stage as he boasted from his heart about his love with Tosca in the strong and long-resonated top notes. He deserved our frenetic applause that arrived in more returning waves to the stage but the show continued with Angelotti�s rescuing. José ruled the stage here, too with his revolutionary enthusiasm and very selfless supporting hand when he hid the Consul in the chapel and later in the villa.
The passionate and totally devoted, virtuous vocal style of José Cura and Eszter Sümegi found their chemistry and worked well in the duet which was carefully guarded and inspired by José�s gentle body language and virile, seductive timbre. When Tosca arrived and the duet began (�Mario! Mario! �Son qui ��) Cavaradossi immediately stood at the door of the little chapel to protect his friend from Tosca�s interest. Eszter Sümegi presented her best artistic and vocal resources what a Tosca is all about through her entrance and during the long duet. Seeing her irreversible determination, our painter crouched down to the stage and simply adored her woman while he was being entertained by his darling�s womanly chattering. In these dangerous circumstances he didn�t show too much enthusiasm about the offered date for the evening and raised Tosca�s jealousy further. So Cavaradossi changed his tactic and he was very keen on directing Tosca�s energy, passion and jealous thoughts into the controlling process of his amusing flirtation. We were enchanted by his many, improvised attempts to declare his love for Tosca. Though our ever charming Cavaradossi was able to catch a couple of passing embraces and little kisses from her, it was only at the very end of the duet when he totally managed to soften Tosca�s stiff and reserved attitude. Finally their wonderful vocal and acting harmony united them into really passionate and very hot, wholehearted loving embraces and kisses before the Madonna�s very eyes! In the next moment he went on his knees handing her fan over to Tosca. Then José lost his inexhaustible, smiling patience and hurried Tosca from the church in his usual joking mood. We launched our warm applause again expressing our full appreciation for this masterly choreographed and performed duet.
A few minutes later the entrance of Zoltán Kelemen�s youthful and dark Scarpia surprised us from the stage. He has such a beautiful and rare calibre of sensuous and radiating baritone voice that captured us immediately all the way it soured and flowed without restraints in the most difficult moments as well. As an actor he could not display a complex portray of Scarpia, the villain, but tried to make it work using more irony and a mix of violence and pretended inner weakness in his game with Tosca. He sang the role with heart and determination and with absolute vocal credibility.
José Cura�s Cavaradossi didn�t take his captivating and Scarpia�s tirades too seriously, but his confidence changed a bit when Tosca entered into the Palace. During their short and moving encounter the painter�s talkative eyes noticed and encouraged Tosca not to fell into Scarpia�s trap. Later we were astonished by José�s short but all the more bravura appearance in his �Vittoria! Vittoria!…� both vocally and physically when he raised the roof by his devastatingly passionate solo not counting that at least four henchmen of Scarpia had hard moments to stop him on the stage.
In the second Act Eszter Sümegi�s Tosca held her ground well against Scarpia, her naivety and actress temperament fought with the more and more shocking awareness of real danger and readiness to save Cavaradossi�s life. Her really cool and dense final question �Quanto?� together with her desperate and rock solid entreaty in �Vissi d�arte …� expressed everything about her understanding and deep suffering. She grabbed a most fabulous piece of tone when launched this famous aria from a physically defeated position, lying on the ground and carried on with great ease and feeling of humanity and affection. Her strong, refined and always ringing voice triumphed virtuously at the final top. Frenetic applause granted her for this achievement and she was really brave and profoundly cautious in her final score with Scarpia too. The theatre produced long and huge celebration for the protagonists after this very exciting and tensed Act.
In the third Act we enjoyed a perfectly composed scene during Cavaradossi�s great aria, �E lucevan le stele �� on the bastions with José Cura. It was great delight to follow how he added such a thickened tension and action to the words in this short aria through his sincere acting and playing with the beauty and dynamic of the voice alone. Right at the beginning, his very gentle, soft and musing passages drew a poetic picture about his passing impression and understanding the end of his life. Then he heightened the heat and passion of his vocal departure up to the highpoint of his dynamic variations at the heartrendingly sparking, final top note. In his concluding words you could notice a genuine hint of denial of his tragic death. We answered with huge, equally passionate, prolonged applause to the stage.
The last duet of Tosca and Cavaradossi crowned the performance as always, if there are such devoted and wonderful singers and actors on the stage. Believing in their rescuing Tosca walked in the clouds in Heaven while Cavaradossi acted with clever realism and sadness in his thoughts. He slowly crushed Scarpia�s safe conduct behind, but sang at behaved wonderfully in favor for Tosca in his actions and didn�t disturb her joy and tormented soul. Vocally (�O dolci mani ..�) they applied a great palette of vocal tenderness and richness while acted the characters so freely that you longed for another and never ending conclusion of the story. Then José gathered enough strength to initiate his final, most painful embrace for Tosca and stood defiantly in front of the bullets. His death scene was as picturesque and heartrending as Tosca�s last scream and suicide jump from the bastion.
Almost ten minutes of celebration followed the opera on both nights with numerous curtain calls. Then of course final, glorious standing ovations welcomed the singers and performances. Although José was kidnapped by the theater company to take part in their party and further celebration, we could still meet our tired Maestro at the artist�s door after the second night. We hope for and are looking forward to enjoying other fruitful results of additional cooperation of José Cura and National Theatre of Szeged in the future.
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