Terfel returns to Met, ignites with Radvanovsky in “Tosca”
Passions raged and voices seared in Tosca at the Metropolitan Opera Thursday night. This is the third and final Met run of Puccini’s “shabby little shocker” this season, which opened with Aleksandra Kurzak in September and continued with Lise Davidsen in November.
As they did in 2021, Sondra Radvanovsky and Brian Jagde reunited as Floria Tosca and her painter-lover Mario Cavaradossi. They squared off against Bryn Terfel, who was returning to the Met stage for the first time in 13 years, as their nemesis Baron Scarpia. The results were electrifying.
Radvanovsky’s first appearance on stage halted the action due to the applause that greeted her. Her Tosca is alternatively pious, flirtatious, and overflowing with jealousy in her exchanges with Jadge’s Cavaradossi. Their chemistry together is palpable, as is hers with Terfel. When she returns to the Church of Sant’Andrea della Valle to find Cavaradossi gone, Terfel’s Scarpia is there, eager to stoke her jealousy. His attempts to caress her make Radvanovsky’s Tosca recoil in revulsion and her voice to catch fire.
The sparks flew more fiercely when Radvanovsky and Terfel squared off in the second act. Radvanovsky’s voice sliced through the orchestra as she gave vent to Tosca’s anguish as Cavaradossi was dragged away to be tortured. Her Tosca expressed revulsion for Terfel’s Scarpia in vocal thrusts as forceful as the multiple stabs to his heart and a final kick to the chest as he was gasping his last breath.
Radvanovsky crowned the act with an impassioned, exquisitely sung “Vissi d’arte,” which she began standing, head bowed, in the center of the stage. The expression in her voice and ability to project emotion by coloring and phrasing combined to create an emotional tour-de-force. After a ringing high B-flat on the last plea for mercy, Radvanovsky executed a stunning decrescendo on the ensuing high A-flat and then built it back to a full-voiced forte. The resulting ovation was among the loudest and longest afforded any singer in recent seasons.
Terfel was also greeted with a thunderous ovation upon stepping on the stage. Approaching 60, he is retiring Scarpia from his repertoire after this season. Although his formidable bass-baritone has lost some of its youthful power, he remains a potent Scarpia. In the Te Deum, which caps the first act, Terfel’s voice was not overpowering so much as penetrating. Its razor-sharp focus was equal to Scarpia’s craven lust for power and a domination projected physically by the towering singer. This physicality makes Terfel’s Scarpia all the more odious. As he serves Tosca a glass of wine after they have struck their bargain, he can’t keep his hands off of her, practically mauling her as she struggles to escape from him.
Jagde is handsome, bold, and brave—essential qualities for Cavaradossi—yet surprisingly tender in his interactions with Radvanovsky’s Tosca. He strode onto the stage and sang a forthright “Recondita armonia,” expressing his love for Tosca not only in rich, ringing volume but also through a sensitive approach to dynamics. Upon hearing the news of Napoleon’s triumph at Marengo, Cavaradossi’s shouts of victory shot forth like flashes of lightning.
In “E lucevan le stelle,” Jagde expressed the painter’s memories of the past and the preciousness of life in lustrous tones, tinged with emotion. His Cavaradossi evinced a playfulness with Radvanovsky’s Tosca, and the sweetness of Jagde’s voice as he sang of her delicate hands, which had murdered for his sake, was equally affecting.
David McVicar’s opulent, historically accurate staging was further enriched by returning cast members who have become stalwarts of the production in their own right. Patrick Carfizzi’s fussy and feisty Sacristan delighted as always, while Tony Stevenson’s Spoletta was evil personified as Scarpia’s henchmen. Le Bu’s Angelotti was warm-voiced yet understated, which made it all the more effective in this high-octane cast.
Xian Zhang led the Met forces in a performance perfectly integrated into the drama. With only three remaining performances, this is a must-see, especially for a final chance to experience Bryn Terfel in one of his signature roles.
Tosca runs through January 23 with the current cast. metopera.org
2 Responses to “Terfel returns to Met, ignites with Radvanovsky in “Tosca””
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Posted Jan 10, 2025 at 5:06 pm by Everal Hathaway
Why not do an HD broadcast of this? These people are huge stars.
As opposed to some of the other Broadcast offerings?????
Posted Jan 16, 2025 at 2:33 am by Eileen Grommell
or even release it as a DVD. Totally agree.