Really really really fantastic.
Despite not being much of a Puccini fan I am such a fan of Tosca, as it is more commonly known.
And tonight...last night...was wonderful! All of the supporting cast were up to their jobs, the Tosca and the Scarpia were more than satisfactory.
And Jonas Kaufmann just knocked my socks off as Cavaradossi.
As I went in, I was already drafting my blog post, 'Jonas Kaufmann was fabulous...' then I thought, maybe he won't be.
He came on stage and sang Recondita Armonia and I was 'this is beyond fabulous! And that was just for starters.
As I say I just love the opera. The music is so cinematic and the band were on fire tonight, too: I understand what I read in a review that Tony Pappano brings out the nuances and details, perhaps at the expense of the big picture. I loved those nuances, and I didn't notice a lack of big picture.
The Vittoria vittoria knocked me back in my seat as I writhed with the exquisite pleasure of such beauty...there was an outbreak of applause, for a two word aria (the famous second act tenor aria!). Someone did say to him afterwards he should tone it down, it was OTT, but she was soon silenced, and he was told to ignore her!
And I was very lucky to be in one of the best seats in the house, one of those restricted leg room ones on the front row of the amphi, where the acoustics are just perfect. I'm in pretty much the same seat next week and I can't wait! Just the minor matter of Walküre in Barcelona first. I'm on a tenor roll from now till mid-July. Life is beautiful.
It's not a great production, but perfectly functional.
It was one of the those nights when everything just seemed to gel.
And a big hello to people I bumped into including Caro, Janet, and Marion from the Unofficial Jonas Kaufmann site, a treasured resource.
