Review: Welsh National Opera

Tosca at Bristol Hippodrome,  October 18, 2025

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Directed by Edward Dick, with production manager Robert Pagett and stage manager Katie Heath-Jones, the Welsh National Opera’s contemporary staging of Tosca was a powerful, emotionally charged experience.

I attended with my 28-year-old son Ben — neither of us seasoned opera-goers — and we were eager to experience Puccini’s masterpiece with fresh, unfiltered eyes.

Having no prior comparison, we found ourselves fully immersed from the first note.

 

A Modern Take on a Classic Tragedy

 

This Tosca is very much of the present day.

While Puccini’s 1900 opera is set amid political turmoil in Napoleonic Rome, this production transposes the story into a brutal, modern world where power, corruption, and surveillance dominate.

The themes — love, loyalty, artistic integrity, and the abuse of authority — feel chillingly current.

The opera was sung in Italian with English surtitles, projected clearly above the stage — the perfect balance between authenticity and accessibility.

This was perfect for us as it allowed us to engage while appreciating the lyrical power of the original language.

 

Principal Performances

 

The cast was led by Natalya Romaniw as Floria Tosca, Andrés Presno as Mario Cavaradossi, and Dario Solari as Baron Scarpia.

Romaniw’s Tosca was magnetic — a blend of strength and vulnerability, devotion and despair. Her rendition of Vissi d’arte in Act II, sung while Scarpia tormented her, was utterly heartbreaking; her voice soared with purity and anguish, filling the theatre with raw emotion.

Presno’s Cavaradossi brought warmth and nobility, his tenor rich with sincerity. His E lucevan le stelle in Act III was another highlight — tender, lyrical, and devastating in its resignation.

Solari’s Scarpia embodied corruption and cruelty. His polished authority and quiet menace made him a deeply unsettling presence — a villain who uses power and modern technology as instruments of control.

Supporting roles, including Ross Fettes as the Sacristan and Alun Rhys-Jenkins as Spoletta, added texture and contrast, grounding the drama in human detail.

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Set and Staging

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Designed by Tom Scutt, the set centred around a striking, movable dome — inspired by the Church of Sant’Andrea della Valle in Rome — which shifted and transformed across the acts to create different spaces. Minimalist yet imposing, it dominated the stage, its movement and lighting subtly altering the atmosphere as the story unfolded.

Scutt’s design cleverly integrated modern technology — earpieces, laptops, tablets, and machine guns — to place this Tosca in the 21st century.

One particularly powerful moment saw Scarpia filming Tosca’s distress on his mobile phone during Vissi d’arte — a chilling commentary on voyeurism and cruelty in the digital age.

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Lighting and Atmosphere

 

Lighting designer Lee Curran deserves high praise for his contribution. The lighting was almost another character in itself — guiding emotion and shaping tension.

In Act I, the church was bathed in low, warm light, flickering with electronic candlelight that gave the setting a sacred intimacy.

In Act II, Scarpia’s apartment was lit with stark, modern precision — cold and unforgiving, a spotlight on Tosca’s face amplifying her fear as she watched the live-streamed torture of Cavaradossi. By Act III, as Tosca faced the truth of her lover’s death, the lighting grew harsh and isolated, focusing on her alone on top of the turret — in  despair and defiance before her fatal leap.

 

Orchestra and Musical Direction

 

Under the baton of conductor Gergely Madaras, the WNO Orchestra was magnificent.  We were literally blown away.  From the opening bars to the devastating finale, their performance conveyed Puccini’s shifting moods — tenderness, suspense, fury, and heartbreak — with absolute precision.

Seated near the front, I found it impossible not to be drawn into the music itself. The orchestral playing was rich and dynamic, enhancing every emotion on stage and building an almost unbearable tension before Tosca’s final moments.

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Overall Impression

 

This Welsh National Opera Tosca was a triumph of modern interpretation — bold, accessible, and emotionally charged.

For newcomers like  and I my son Ben, (his contribution posted on Instagram is here) it was an unforgettable introduction to the world of opera: visually striking, musically magnificent, and deeply moving.

By the end, we sat in stunned silence — overwhelmed not only by the beauty of Puccini’s music but by how vividly it still speaks to the modern world. 

We are complete converts and cannot wait to attend our next opera.

 

Julie Downing