PalmaNobody who attended the concert that on May 23, 2019, the Balearic Islands City Auditorium offered, will forget the voice of the Norwegian soprano who had come to replace the American Lise Lindstrom. The name Lise Davidsen began to be spoken of in earnest, in a dazzling ascent, while she captivated everyone, without exception. Even those responsible for the Wagnerian oracle, where in the same year, two months later, she debuted with the role of Elisabeth in Tannhäuser with a tremendous success. From here, the possibility of a return was not even remote. Once again the predictions that more than a few soothsayers had made were shattered when the Cap Rocat Festival announced that we would have the opportunity to once again enjoy the immeasurable talent of Lise Davidsen, moreover in her Spanish debut as Floria Tosca. This circumstance alone made the semi-staged version of Puccini's opera an event of the highest possible caliber.
From its entrance on stage, “Mario, Mario, Mario!”, to “O Scarpia, Avanti Dio” with which the performance concludes, she exhibited all and each of her infinite and stratospheric possibilities. Volume, breath, projection, timbre, density, consistency, dramatic coloratura… made their presence felt in all and each of her interventions, especially and as it could not be otherwise in the mythical Vissi d’arte, which, naturally, we will also never forget. But Davidsen did not come alone, but very well accompanied. No more and no less than with a powerful and prodigious Scarpia as is the one Ludovic Tézier gave us, who even made us forget the multiple and extraordinary references we have of the villain par excellence, with the permission of Verdi's Iago. Dramatically immeasurable, vocally impeccable. Every gesture, every little silence he incorporated into the character enriched him, defined him to perfection, and turned him into that malevolent being that has captivated us so many times. Tézier was a superb Scarpia. Another good reason to magnify the spectacle. There was one last angle to complete the story, Mario Cavaradossi, who was interpreted by another of the chosen ones who inhabit the Olympus of opera, Freddie De Tommaso. A character with a little less specific weight, but who somehow has to sing the two most emblematic pieces, such as the romance Recondita armonia and the aria E lucevan le stelle. The first, which is always like a stumbling block for the tenor, like a composer's trial by fire, caused a slight lag with the orchestra, conducted by Pablo Mielgo, who in total put all his baggage against what those in front of them held. The conjunction was not simple and for many reasons, although the overall result was more than satisfactory. And what was completely satisfactory was the intervention of Tomeu Bibiloni, a sure bet, as Sagrestano, or that of Sebastià Serra interpreting Angelotti. Impeccable. In the same way that the Cap Rocat choir, conducted by Joan Company, fulfilled its task. All in all, a Tosca that surely we had not even been able to dream of.