ARCOLA THEATRE – UNTIL 6th SEPTEMBER 2025
REVIEWED BY JACKIE THORNTON
5*****
Everyone has a backstory, everyone has a prologue. Here the clever minds of Prologue Opera have opened up the world of Puccini’s renowned work Tosca, transplanting it from 1800 Rome to an unspecified South American barrio in the mid-20th Century. The key characters remain but over two acts we witness the tragedy of their lives as they rise from poverty city into a tempestuous society where a military junta battles the burgeoning resistance.
Director Rebecca Marine, making her company debut, and musical director Berrak Dyer bring Christopher Cowell’s translation to life with oodles of warmth, humour and relatability in act one, with the second half teasing out our dread and fear for lovers Cavaradossi and Tosca. Anthony Flaum’s rendering of the tragic painter Cavaradossi has our sympathy in bucket loads and his silky, rich tones are a delight. Diva opera singer Tosca is played with an incredible range of emotions by Anna Sideris and her agile soprano voice pairs sublimely with Flaum.
Brendan Collins makes a wonderful villain as a corrupt Secretariat of State Intelligence Scarpia with his thundering bass voice and snappy comic timing. Jonathan Cooke as Spoletta perfectly conveys the frustration of feeling ignored by the world in Shadowman while at only 16, Harry Gently cuts an impressive Angelotti with Internationale as he naively tries to stir up support for a revolution.
Staging is minimal with suggestions of a church, a government office or an interrogation room that allow the performers to command the space. Tosca’s costuming is a particular highlight, capturing the 1940s style while also hinting at a colour palette from Cavaradossi’s paintings. The five singers are accompanied by just one pianist and a clarinettist but there’s certainly nothing lacking in their skilled performances of Frank Moon’s score.
This company is all about challenging our preconceptions of opera and as someone relatively new to appreciating this art form, it was mesmerizing. No opera glasses required, the intimate space of the Arcola means the cast are literally eyeballing you with their full emotion. Not to be missed.