Puccini Tosca
Opera à la Carte at St James's Church, Piccadilly 20 July 2005

Caroline Childe (Tosca)
Jonathan Fisher, bass (Scarpia)
Kevin Ferguson, tenor (Cavaradossi)
Nicholas Heath, director
Rosalind Jones, musical director

This has been a week to explore, enjoy and ponder opera (and quasi-opera) in unusual and reduced circumstances. There have been Royal Opera's Young Artists Summer Concert and their Walkure at the Proms, Monteverdi dramatised at Conway Hall, and now Tosca in a London church.

Opera à la Carte presented Tosca in film noir style, with politics and religion, torture, blackmail, attempted rape, murder, execution, and suicide; who could want more for an evening's entertainment? 'Just as much a thriller as a tragedy', its libretto is seen by Nicholas Heath as a precursor of 20th C pulp fiction.

Beginning in a real church, they were well away, and the settings of the other acts were economically devised for easy touring and performances in a wide variety of venues. Last week the company had been playing in a tent, and so they were glad of the reverberant acoustic of St James; we preferred to listen from under the side galleries, where the sound is better clarified.

We were intrigued by the advertised accompaniment of organ and percussion, but discovered that the musical lynchpin was a quite remarkable musician, Rosalind Jones, directing from the piano. Piano reductions of opera scores can make heavy weather, but she made her little orchestra of three enchanting to hear, and unanimity was maintained perfectly without a conductor. The organ and percussion were used sparingly and to powerful dramatic effect; it was not clear if the clever instrumental arrangement was by organist Paul Ayres?

The opera was plausibly and unfussilly updated to 20 C, with suggestions of Hollywood gangster movies in Scarpia and his henchmen. There were a number of clever and acceptable touches. Scarpia's office had the clatter of a secretary typing; his torture equipment was handled solicitously by a nurse in uniform, very sinister! Cavaradossi was despatched with a single bullet in his cell. Tosca had retained the murder knife, and used it to slit her throat instead of jumping off ramparts, which rarely convinces in the opera house.

The astute director Nicholas Heath has built up his company with extensive knowledge and connections within the opera scene and is able to draw on some high quality professional singers who may normally not have opportunties to take on major roles and may be available, e.g. during summer recesses.

Caroline Childe has starred with Opera Holland Park, Scottish Opera, ETO etc; she was perhaps not in best voice last night, strained at the top. Kevin Ferguson has a varied CV and was a persuasive Cavaradossi, rising well to all the key moments. Jonathan Fisher, a bass with the Royal Opera Chorus, describes himself over-modestly as 'a jobbing baritone'. His first Scarpia was impressive by any standard, vocally and dramatically. The minor parts were taken tellingly and Nicholas Heath's direction ensured that all the acting was as cohesive and effective as you are likely to find in the major opera houses.

We have never heard a roar of applause in St James's such as greeted the end of Opera à la Carte's Tosca!

Another performance tonight: 08703 800 400 or 020 7381 0441