OTC Celebrates Puccini’s 150th Birthday With His Soaring ‘Tosca’

By Donna Doherty, New Haven Register, Conn.

Aug. 3–CLINTON — Jealousy, passion and politics — always a volatile mix, but never more so than when Giacomo Puccini mixes them together in what is an opera singer and lover’s dream, “Tosca.”

The Opera Theater of Connecticut celebrates the 150th birthday of Puccini by presenting the melodrama Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday (7:30 p.m.) and 6 p.m. Aug. 10 at Andrews Memorial Hall.

Tired of turning people away and mindful of the popularity of the opera, which is No. 8 on Opera America’s top 20 most-performed operas, OTC has added a fourth performance this year.

The production will be sung In Italian with English supertitles. Director Alan Mann says, “Tosca” is the perfect vehicle for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the times we live in,” with its story of political upheaval, wrongful imprisonment, power grabbing, love of country and, of course, love.

“We were looking at expanding, so we wanted a solid hit, and also, since it was Puccini’s 150th birthday, we more or less had to do Puccini,” Mann said with a chuckle. “All of these combined, it had to be ‘Tosca,’ the perfect tragic opera. It has everything. There’s nothing extraneous in the opera.”

Puccini did masterly work at cutting down what was a five-act play written especially for — and talk about dramatics and divas — actress Sarah Bernhardt — and creating a three-act opera that comes in around two hours, with soaring music that any diva worth her high C lusts for.

The fact that everyone dies in some way — by murder, execution and suicide — only enhances the drama and challenge of the role for its players, soprano Stephanie Gregory in the title role, tenor Adam Diegel as her lover Mario Cavaradossi and baritone Scott Bearden as the evil Scarpia.

Mann feels it’s also perfect in keeping with the company’s mission, which is “the training and presenting of young artists just before they go off on national and international careers,” said Mann. “Our audiences get to hear singers that will soon be performing in major houses in this beautiful, intimate little space here in Clinton.”

While they may not be household names, these singers are already accomplished professionals with impressive credentials well known in their field. Both Gregory and Diegel are graduates of the Yale Opera program.

Gregory, the 2001 American Jenny Lind, who until recently lived in East Haven, and now pursues her career from New York, is making her OTC debut in the role, but is no stranger to OTC or Puccini, having sung Mimi in “La Boheme” both here and in her native state with the Mississippi Opera. She also recently debuted as Magda in “La Rondine” with Orchestra Giuseppe Verdi in Milan.

“She’s just back from Milan,” said Mann. “She’s doing a lot of Puccini heroines. Obviously, for the Italians, she’s the voice they want to hear singing Puccini.”

Diegel prepared and was the cover for the role of Mario for the City Opera of New York this past season, though he never got to perform it, making this his debut in the role also, according to Mann.

“The two of them who are just now on the cusp of major careers are working with Scott, who just won two very important vocal competitions in the U.S. (Irene Dalis and Verdi) which mark him as one of the great baritones of the younger generation,” said Mann of the acclaimed singer who has performed several times with OTC.

Completing the ensemble are Michael-Paul Krubitzer and David Olsen as bad guys Soletta and Sciarrone, respectively, Laurentiu Rotaru as the comic Sacristan and Colin Brady as Caesare Angelotti, the escaped prisoner who sets the action in motion, along with OTC’s chorus of local and regional singers from “age 9 to 90,” said Mann. Kyle Swann is the musical director and Kate Ford is OTC’s general director.

Gregory has practically grown up with OTC. In describing the woman a critic called “a young artist of rare distinction,” Mann said, “It’s many things. Just the maturity of her voice, and that includes sustained, longer lines, greater control over dynamics and the ability to phrase and color what’s being sung. On top of that, is just a great depth of approaching the characterization of the role.”

He notes the full dimensions of the Tosca role are a dream as well as a challenge to a singer. “It’s a big sing for a soprano, the baritone as well.”

Puccini’s dramatics also offer his singers a chance to flex their acting muscles. There’s plenty of drama to go around, to reinterpret — fun, says Mann, for them and the director as well. “There’s lots of excitement and decison-making for the artists.”

(Note: Boxed suppers from Chips Pub II for pre-performance dining are available through OTC for $15 (860-669-8999).

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Copyright (c) 2008, New Haven Register, Conn.

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