Becoming Tosca, Arcola Theatre

Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca, first performed in 1900, is a taut political thriller wrapped in some of the most powerful music ever written for the stage. Prologue Opera’s Becoming Tosca takes this classic and adds a lengthy prologue to explore the characters’ backstories, part of the company’s mission to make opera more accessible and relevant. While the idea is noble, the execution struggles to deliver either emotional depth or artistic cohesion.

Set in an unnamed South American dictatorship (a vague gesture towards Argentina), the production opens with a spoken-word-heavy section backed by new music from Frank Moon. This original score, while pleasant, lacks the drama and dynamism to carry the weight of a political uprising or doomed love story. The characters, Tosca, Cavaradossi, Scarpia, each take turns sharing their pasts, but these monologues often feel like forced exposition rather than genuine insight. Attempts to layer in social context (such as Scarpia’s failed priesthood) are undermined by clumsy dialogue and a generic setting that’s never reflected in the staging or design.

Musically, there are bright moments. Anna Sideris brings vocal control and presence to the title role, especially in Vissi d’Arte, and Brendan Collins’s Scarpia is suitably menacing, if overly blunt. Anthony Flaum’s Cavaradossi is sung with strength but lacks nuance. Boyan Ivanov’s clarinet and Berrak Dyer’s piano are the production’s quiet heroes, delivering Puccini’s music with restraint and sensitivity, especially during E Lucevan le Stelle. Yet even the best singing is undercut by the lack of variety in vocal dynamics; most singers seem stuck on full volume, and the spoken scenes often fall flat.

Visually, the production is underwhelming. The staging is static, the direction lacks tension, and there’s little in the way of design to suggest time or place. The surtitles were sometimes mistimed, and the tone wavered uncomfortably between sincerity and soap opera. The biggest let-down, though, is the relationship between Tosca and Cavaradossi. Their love, the emotional heart of the opera, feels surface-level, as if built on mutual hobbies rather than burning passion or sacrifice.

Despite a few strong performances and a commendable aim to engage new audiences, Becoming Tosca never quite knows what it wants to be. It’s too earnest to be satirical, too vague to be political, and too uneven to be moving. Interesting in concept, but ultimately a missed opportunity.

Image credit: Prologue Opera