Tosca

Your reaction to Benoit Jacquot's version of Puccini's classic musical melodrama will largely depend on your feelings about cinematic remakes of traditional live opera performances. Opening with an extended sequence—in artily enhanced black-and-white—of the recording sessions in which the singers later lip-synched their screen performances, employing large sets and sweeping camera movements, and even occasionally superimposing spoken dialogue over the singing, the director defiantly proclaims his intention to liberate the piece from its stage origins in order to drive home the visceral passions on display. Musically, this is a very strong Tosca, with the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden offering a muscular reading of the score under the propulsive baton of Antonio Pappano, and Angela Gheorghiu not only sounding but also looking the part of the tempestuous titular diva, who pretends to submit to the advances of the lustful police chief Scarpia (Ruggero Raimondi) in order to save her lover, the painter Cavaradossi, from torture and execution. Raimondi, exuding silken malevolence, is equally impressive, although the weak link here is tenor Roberto Alagna, whose voice sounds a bit thin for Cavaradossi. But it's really Jacquot's extravagant cinematic flourishes that you'll either love or merely tolerate. Presented on an extra-less disc with a good Dolby Digital stereo soundtrack, this is recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)