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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2009
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 OPERA REVIEW 
6

Met Audience Boos Drab Tosca

Critics pan new production of Puccini opera

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(Newser) – New York's Metropolitan Opera opened its season last night with a gala production of Puccini's Tosca, a crowd-pleasing war horse given an aggressive new staging by the Swiss director Luc Bondy. The black-tie crowd was not pleased with the stark, modern production, erupting in boos during the curtain call. Critics were disappointed, too; Manuela Hoelterhoff of Bloomberg laments, "God, this production is depressing."

Bondy has replaced the over-the-top baroque sets of the Met's previous Tosca with drab grays and browns, Hoelterhoff notes, and the villainous Scarpia lives not in a palazzo but "a dive decorated in early Tony Soprano-style with a few errant pieces from Ikea." New York Times critic Anthony Tommasini notes that "if Mr. Bondy wanted to rid his Tosca of stock cliché, his heavy-handed ideas are just as hackneyed." Anne Midgette of the Washington Post agrees, calling the production "contrived and a little odd without being particularly effective."

Marcelo Alvarez performs as Caravadossi during the final dress rehearsal of Giacomo Puccini's
Marcelo Alvarez performs as Caravadossi during the final dress rehearsal of Giacomo Puccini's "Tosca," Thursday, Sept. 17, 2009 at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.   (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
George Gagnidze as Scarpia during the final dress rehearsal of Giacomo Puccini's
George Gagnidze as Scarpia during the final dress rehearsal of Giacomo Puccini's "Tosca," Thursday, Sept. 17, 2009 at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.   (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
Karita Mattila, right, performs the title roll alongside George Gagnidze during the final dress rehearsal of Giacomo Puccini's
Karita Mattila, right, performs the title roll alongside George Gagnidze during the final dress rehearsal of Giacomo Puccini's "Tosca," at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.   (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
Marcelo Alvarez, Karita Mattila and George Gagnidze during the final dress rehearsal of Giacomo Puccini's
Marcelo Alvarez, Karita Mattila and George Gagnidze during the final dress rehearsal of Giacomo Puccini's "Tosca," Thursday, Sept. 17, 2009 at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.   (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
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6 comments
VIEWING:
 
atomick
Sep 22, 09 11:01 AM CDT
We as Americans need to seriously re-evaluate how we behave in public. Booing an opera? No matter how bad it was it's not like you're at a Kanye West concert. Grow up. Reply
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-1
IN RESPONSE:
GenkiDesuKa
Sep 22, 09 12:46 PM CDT
Actually, I think there is a long tradition of booing at the opera...
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+3
IN RESPONSE:
schmidtkoff
Sep 23, 09 9:11 AM CDT
yes that is correct genk. booing at an opera is a time honored tradition. it is EXPECTED if the performance or set is not up to snuff.
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0
DarkFrancis
Sep 22, 09 6:07 PM CDT
So there was nothing wrong with the singing, just the set design and wardrobe and it still got booed? If that's the case, the audience, who would have got over the shock of their hatred for the set 10 mins in stayed three hours plus just so they could boo the performers. Something's not right about this. It can't just be the way the production was staged, it must have been more. Reply
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IN RESPONSE:
chas_m
Sep 22, 09 7:51 PM CDT
Agreed, we're not getting the whole story. Nobody boos set design. They boo performers (either because they're no good, or because they've been very poorly directed).
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+1

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