On 16 September Scottish Opera brought back Anthony Besch’s 1980 production of Tosca, featuring Gwyn Hughes Jones as Cavaradossi and Dingle Yandell as Angelotti. The production is conducted by Scottish Opera’s Music Director Stuart Stratford. The production has received glowing reviews, with praise for all three artists:
As Cavaradossi, Hughes Jones came into his own in the final act, his farewell impassioned and noble. Underpinning it all was the Orchestra of Scottish Opera and conductor Stuart Stratford who gave a lithe, responsive reading of Puccini’s score.
Rowena Smith, The Guardian, 17 October 2019
Gwyn Hughes Jones’ Cavaradossi is quite the rebel and the romantic. His impetuous running off with the escaped prisoner Angelotti in Act I feels less an act of folly, as it can do, but quite consistent with his utterly glorious Act III aria, as he loses all composure while attempting to write his final letter to Tosca.
There are strongly nuanced performances from the supporting roles. With conductor Stuart Stratford’s sumptuously cinematic interpretation of Puccini’s score, they ensure that the story is being advanced for every second of this still-glorious production.
Thom Dibdin, The Stage, 17 October 2019
As Cavaradossi, Gwyn Hughes Jones’s tenor is light rather than powerful, but he hits the notes with a ping and ease that few tenors in this production’s history have managed, and he’s fantastic in the love duets … the smaller characters are all excellent, led by a superb Angelotti from Dingle Yandell. It’s time he was given some bigger roles.
Simon Thomson, The Times, 17 October 2019
The production runs until 26 October at the Theatre Royal in Glasgow, before touring to Aberdeen, Inverness and Edinburgh in October and November 2019. Tickets for all venues are available via the Scottish Opera website.
Photo credit: James Glossop
