I must be getting old because I am starting to enjoy opera more and more! Last night, I saw Puccini’s classic opera, Tosca, at the Navoy Theatre here in Tashkent. It was so uplifting to be in the presence of live singers and a full orchestra. It is a cheap night out in Tashkent thanks to the long history of the arts being supported in Uzbekistan.
Not only is it the performance itself, but the beautiful, historic theatre is a delight to spend time in. I watched the first two acts from row 9 on the ground floor and then watched the third act on the third-floor balcony. It allowed me to watch the orchestra closely, and it is fascinating to see the different sections of the orchestra come into and out of the performance, matching the singers and the story. The French horns blast to signal action and tension, the four cellos play when Tosca is sad, etc. I realized it is an essential and strong partnership between the orchestra and the singers.
The story itself is full of cliches and melodrama. The play debuted 125 years ago, so I don’t think I am spoiling anything. The military general (Scarpia) wants the lead singer (Tosca) as his wife and imprisons and tortures her boyfriend (Cavaradossi). She stabs and kills the general when he forces himself on her. Tosca’s boyfriend was supposed to have a fake execution, part of the deal Tosca mad with Scarpia. However, being the villain, he has his soldiers put in real bullets and not blanks so he dies. When Tosca learns the truth, she kills herself. The one aspect I liked about the libretto was that it was set in the year 1800 when Napoleon took over Rome. I didn’t know he invaded Italy. I like historical fiction and the play gave a sense of what it was like then. Tosca is the fifth most performed opera in the world in the past 25 years.
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