La Scala’s Tosca Triumphs Despite Power Outage at Premiere

March 16, 2025 – The latest run of Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca at La Scala, directed by Davide Livermore and conducted by Michele Gamba, opened last night to an enthusiastic audience. This production, originally premiered in the 2019/2020 season, was first conducted by Riccardo Chailly, who presented the rarely performed original version of the opera as it debuted at Rome’s Teatro Costanzi in 1900.

During last night’s performance, a power failure briefly disrupted the show, affecting the conductor’s podium light and dimming part of the stage’s left side. The second act was delayed by approximately 15 minutes for repairs. However, these issues did not seem to affect the overall audience experience, as the performance received strong applause. Michele Gamba’s conducting was well received, and the lead singers – Chiara Isotton as Tosca, Francesco Meli as Cavaradossi, and Luca Salsi as Scarpia – delivered acclaimed performances. Both Meli and Salsi reprised their roles from the 2019 premiere.

Livermore’s production embraces a cinematic approach, with Alessandra Premoli overseeing the revival. The set was designed by Giò Forma, costumes by Gianluca Falaschi, lighting by Antonio Castro, and video projections by D-Wok. The director views Puccini as a precursor to film, given the seamless transitions in his operas. Since traditional camera techniques cannot be employed on stage, the production instead uses dynamic set movements to guide the audience’s focus. In the church of Sant’Andrea della Valle, for example, stage elements rise, lower, and shift to enhance the drama. However, this constant motion in Act I was not well received by some audience members.

The production runs until April 4, with nine performances in total. On March 25 and 28, Elena Stikhina will take over as Tosca, alongside Fabio Sartori as Cavaradossi and Amartuvshin Enkhbat as Scarpia.