ENO’s Radical “Tosca” Swaps Realism for Relentless Violence
Annilese Miskimmon’s new “Tosca” at the London Coliseum replaces Puccini’s church‑state clash with a near‑constant barrage of on‑stage brutality.
What a daring gamble! English National Opera’s artistic director Annilese Miskimmon has unveiled a brand‑new staging of Puccini’s Tosca at the London Coliseum, four years after the company’s previous hyper‑stylised version.
The new production abandons the opera’s traditional three‑location realism, removing all place names from Amanda Holden’s translation and collapsing the action into a single, mid‑century modern space that resembles a church‑turned‑concert hall.
Onstage, a plain sanctuary with a Madonna mural, cleaning ladies in dungarees and a sacristan‑caretaker in dungarees share the stage with a battered baby‑grand piano and a fleeting string quartet, signalling the concert‑hall illusion.
This re‑imagining eliminates Puccini’s visceral clash between church and state at the end of act one and the nuanced interplay of on‑stage and off‑stage worlds in act two, replacing them with near‑constant physical aggression.
Women are hauled by their hair, the Marchioness Attavanti makes a brief, screaming cameo during the Te Deum, and corpses pile up as Scarpia’s henchmen roam the set. Multiple musical instruments are smashed, each impact losing a little of its shock value.
Despite the visual chaos, the ENO orchestra under Ben Glassberg occasionally overwhelms the stage with sumptuous sound, and sharp brass bursts conjure genuine terror.
The chorus, comprising adults and children, roars with desperate energy at moments, while Axelle Fanyo’s lyrical tone in the title role offers a fleeting oasis of beauty amid the torrent of foot traffic.
Chaz Men Williams‑Ali, as Cavaradossi, struggles to be heard from the back of the stage, especially when pitted against the “offstage” musicians and the larger vocal forces.
Christopher Purves, however, shines as a terrifying Scarpia. His starched posture, chilling baritone and nail‑hard diction make his performance the sole highlight, suggesting that even a non‑vintage “Tosca” can find a moment of brilliance.
The run continues at the Coliseum until 11 December.
