Anna Netrebko delivered a tour de force as Tosca at the Royal Opera House, a performance that critic Tully Potter says redeemed her critics. Potter writes that Netrebko’s rendition of the aria Vissi d’arte was among the finest he has heard, and that, at 54, she still wields a big, impassioned voice with substantial variety. The role of Tosca, a prima donna who commands the stage, appears a natural fit for a singer born to raise the rafters of the world’s opera houses. Potter’s verdict centers on Netrebko’s intensity and command, even as he criticizes elements of the production.
Inside Covent Garden, the atmosphere contrasted with outside protests. Campaigners waving Ukrainian flags gathered to protest Russia-linked associations, while Netrebko nonetheless commanded the stage with a formidable presence that filled the house. The critic notes that Netrebko’s command of the score stood in stark relief against the staging and directorial choices that surround her performance.
Freddie De Tommaso, as Mario Cavaradossi, brought a robust lyric tenor to the role, with lungs he wields across all three acts and through the vocal weight of the aria E lucevan le stelle. Potter observes that De Tommaso belts through the score with energy but cautions that longevity in a long career will require more careful resource management. Gerald Finley, one of today’s leading baritones, appears as Baron Scarpia, yet the production reduces his presence to a stockbroker-like figure and a London commuter rather than a menacing aristocrat, a transformation Potter says diminishes the character’s menace on stage.
The production under Oliver Mears receives particular critique. Potter describes Act 2’s set by Simon Lima Holdsworth as a bland, uninspired City office, noting that Scarpia lacks a proper desk or dinner table to anchor his scheming, and that the visual conceit drains atmosphere from what is otherwise one of the opera’s most charged acts. Act 3 is trimmed into a boxed space, with a gratuitous close-up killing that lessens the gravity of Tosca’s moral crucible. A later mock execution near Tosca, Potter notes, is so close to where she stands that it risks undermining the drama of the scene.
That said, the performance finds strong support from Jakub Hrusa, the ROH’s new music director, whose conducting provides a sturdy, high-definition framework for Netrebko’s Tosca. Potter praises the orchestra and chorus for supplying a “first-rate” encounter that helps anchor the singer’s imperious portrayal. He also notes the small but memorable support from offstage shepherd boy Raphy Laming at the start of Act 3 as a rare touch of atmospheric texture amid the production’s misgivings.
Tosca remains on the Royal Opera House stage through October 11, with Netrebko’s run concluding on Sunday, September 21. The longer engagement is part of a broader ROH program that seeks to balance star presence with a more traditional staging approach, a balance Potter implies the company has not fully achieved in this production. Netrebko’s return to Tosca has drawn attention beyond the music itself, as the global conversation around the artist’s ties to Russia continues to unfold, underscoring the complicated intersection of art, politics and performance in contemporary opera.
In any event, the night’s triumph belonged to Netrebko, who, according to Potter, demonstrates why she remains a commanding force in the operatic world. The critic’s verdict—redeemed by a great diva—reads as a provocative, if controversial, stamp of approval that will be debated by audiences long after the final curtain call.