Tosca

We had a very good time attending ALO's season opener, Tosca. We were afraid we might not make it -- and I though that it would be kind of dramatic if Jfer's water broke during the show -- but we're very glad we attended and that Junior's first opera was so enjoyable. The show is nicely paced and has two intermissions, so the bladder didn't become too much of an issue.

I keep forgetting how political Puccini's works are and how contemporary -- and influential -- his music is. For me Tosca doesn't really have a catchy aria that I'd whistle on the way home, but it's very lyrical, none the less. There is one lovely motif that Puccini later more fully expands in La Fanciulla del West and that gets eventually ripped off by Andrew Lloyd Webber for the Phantom of the Opera.

Since we attend on Mondays, we don't get to hear the "star" cast. Still, I enjoyed all the principals. And the actors filled their roles and made them believable. I especially enjoyed Greer Grimsley as Scarpia I imagine the villain gets usually sung by an older (and "bigger") singer, but Grimsley made him young and cocky and delightfully evil. Judging from his publicity photo it probably wasn't that much of a stretch for him :-)

Next up is Elektra in January. We'll be looking for babysitting volunteers...