Tosca. Guest performers

12.10.2021

This series of opera performances of Tosca, which is taking place on the New Stage from the 12 th to the 17 th of October, will be marked by several exciting debuts. For the first time on the stage of the Bolshoi Theatre the part of Tosca will be performed by the star of the opera world Anna Netrebko (her performances are on the 12th and the 14th of October). Anna Netrebko debuted in this role at the Metropolitan Opera in 2018.

At that time all newspapers described her performance as “brilliant”, “thrilling”, calling it a “true masterpiece”. She then sang it at Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, the Vienna State Opera, the Mariinsky Theatre, the Gran Teatro del Liceu in Barcelona, Teatro Real in Madrid and at the Salzburg Festival. At the Bolshoi Theatre, Anna Netrebko performed at the premiere of the opera Manon Lescaut by G. Puccini (2016) and in 2020 she sang the part of Elisabeth (Don Carlo by G. Verdi). On the 13th, 15th and 17th of October the part of Floria Tosca will be performed by Zoya Tsererina, who “has a voice that can whisper and give itself to the tones of passionate lyricism, an actress with an incredible stage presence, with precisely regulated and appropriate gestures” (Fermataspettacolo.it, 17.12.2019). Last year the singer had a brilliant debut at the Bolshoi Theatre as the Foreign Princess in “Rusalka” by A. Dvorak.

The part of Mario Cavaradossi will be performed by Murat Kharahan (12th, 14th and 16th of October) and by Freddie de Tommaso (13th, 15th and 17th of October). Murat Kharahan is already well known to the audience of the Bolshoi Theatre. He debuted on our stage in 2015 as Rodolfo (La Boheme by G. Puccini), later sang the parts of Alfredo (La Traviata by G. Verdi), Jose (Carmen by G. Bizet) and Chevalier des Grieux (Manon Lescaut by G. Puccini). Murat Kharahan is a welcomed guest at many leading European theatres and in recent years he has been a permanent participant of Arena di Verona Festival. The part of Cavaradossi was performed by Murat Kharahan at Arena di Verona Festival and Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, at the Wroclaw Opera and the Turkish State Opera and Ballet Theatre.

A 28-year-old tenor, Freddie de Tommaso, has already become a favourite of the European audiences and critics. The young singer is compared to Mario del Monaco and Franco Corelli: “The voice is broad, of good stance, the timbre luminous which reminds a little of the young Corelli, the easy treble, the homogeneous passages, [he] is undoubtedly a future star..." (Der Wanderer, June 2021).

His performance in our production will be a double debut for the singer – he will appear on the stage of the Bolshoi Theatre and sing the part of Cavaradossi for the first time. His debut in this role was supposed to take place in March this year at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden but the performances were cancelled and the London audience will not be able to hear him until December 2021.

In one of his signature parts, Baron Scarpia, Gevorg Hakobyan will appear on the stage of the Bolshoi Theatre for the first time (his performances are scheduled for the 13th, 15th and 17th of October). The singer performed this part at Teatro Real in Madrid, the Opera de Lille, the Teatro Regio in Turin, Stuttgart Opera, the Rome Opera, the Reina Sofia centre for arts in Valencia, the Mariinsky Theatre and many others.

“Armenian baritone Gevorg Hakobyan created a deeply emotional Baron Scarpia, tortured by his love for Tosca to the point of madness. He is both terrifying and pathetic, even begging Tosca in the second act, in complete contrast with his otherwise frequent outbursts of violence. Hakobyan used his dramatic, metallic voice to color his strong parlatto lines, avoiding the old mannerisms of verismo, and singing the uncomfortable middle writing of the role over a dense orchestration effortlessly. But his voice could not fight Luisotti’s determination of playing as loud as possible, and in moments like “Tosca, mi fai dimenticare Iddio” or “sei mia” his sound was swallowed up completely by the orchestra. Hakobyan’s acting was convincing in his depiction of the violent, sadistic, and sexually cruel baron, brilliantly executing all the aspects that Azorín proposed, portraying a tormented, hypocritical and unstable man.” (Operawire.com, 19.07.2021).

At the Bolshoi Theatre Gevorg Hakobyan debuted as Ivan the Terrible (The Tsar’s Bride by N. Rimsky-Korsakov) in 2017, then performed the parts of Tomsky (The Queen of Spades by P. Tchaikovsky), Ibn-Hakia (Iolanta by P. Tchaikovsky) and participated in the concert performance of the opera Mazeppa by P. Tchaikovsky, singing the leading part.

On the 12th, 14th and 16th of October we welcome maestro Placido Domingo. Coming full circle, he will be conducting Tosca, the opera which marked the first performance by this legendary singer on the stage of the Bolshoi Theatre - he sang the part of Cavaradossi during the La Scala tour in 1974. Last season at the Bolshoi Theatre, Placido Domingo conducted the operas Manon Lescaut and La Boheme by G. Puccini, performed the parts of Rodrigo (Don Carlo by G. Verdi) and Giorgio Germont (La Traviata by G. Verdi) and presented two gala concerts in the format “Domingo and friends” on our stage as well.