Minack Theatre, Porthcurno, Penzance, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, Europe.
The far south-west of England, 9 miles farther from where you can get by train.

I arrived there after some adventures and despite being sure at a certain point that I wouldn’t get in time for the show. On the way to Penzance, which is also the last train station in the south-west of England, at Truro, 45 km before reaching our destination, the train engine broke!
I would say "It can’t be! ", given the fact that I was in the country where trains and engines were invented. :-)

All passengers got off on the platform, and they were given two options, to wait for the next train, or to take a bus, as First Great Western, the train company, provided some for people who were in a hurry. Of course, there were also grumblers who just couldn’t accept that an engine can break, so I witnessed a movie-like fight between the discontented passengers and the train station officials, during which the toughest blow was given by a female traveler - "I am very angry! " - words said on the same tone that we use when we say "Give me a loaf of bread, please! ".....

In that moment, despite the fact that I had the possibility of taking the bus, the chances of making it to the show were inexistent, because from Penzance there were still 9 miles (14 km) to the theatre. I arrived in Penzance and I went to the bus station, but the last one had already left. A man saw me, started to talk to me, and asked me why I didn’t go to the railway company to make a complaint, because they were the ones to solve the problem. He even offered to accompany me, and I followed him veeery distrustful. There, in the office, after having listened to my problem, the lady asked me to write my name and destination on a sheet of paper and told me that the company would pay me for a taxi to get to the show!!!

Not mentioning that she didn’t ask to see my train ticket, I wonder if she noticed my expression I had then... because I am sure one could read amazement in it! I immediately thought at "Tosca" in September 2013 at Viena (now, as I write, I realise it is “Tosca", too), which I missed because the train from Bucharest arrived at Timisoara after the one for Budapesta had already left, and the cashier gave me back my Bucuresti-Timisoara ticket - "you have used this one" and made me fill in a refund request for Timisoara-Budapesta, request that still is in one of their drawers, probably labeled as settled, although I didn’t get back the money and I had to pay for the Timisoara-Bucuresti return ticket!

I come back to Tosca... British Tosca. 007 Tosca. :-)
My first opera in English. ;-)
I knew it would be in English and this was precisely what attracted me so much, I wanted to see how "Mario! Mario! " sounded in Shakespeare’s language. :-) But the most interesting thing would not be the singing in English, but the place where the opera had been set up! Minack Theatre was right on the shore of the English Channel, with the sea at the back of the scene! You see the scene, with the waves behind you, a ship showing up now and then, the wind blowing softly, a seagull flying... and behind the scene, a cliff coming out of the sea... It’s difficult to put it into words, but it was one of the most beautiful places where I saw an opera!

Minack Theatre, that I’ve just checked, is described as "The world famous cliff top open air theatre"... how else to be if not "the world famous"...?
Putting aside the above mentioned typical British arrogance..., the British public, that I met again after two years, didn’t change much. :-) I speak first of all about the occasional laughs - reaction that might be connected to the strange well-known British humour - laughs that left me astounded at times, unable to understanding them, though I am known as somebody with the sense of humour. I like even the British humour, what better argument could I have? :-)

The orchestra was set up somewhere in the back to the left, in a tent. For this reason, the artists didn’t actually have a conductor, but they did very well even without one. In what concerns the size, the orchestra wasn’t very big, about 25 persons. I don’t know what would have happened if it had rained, but the famous British rain didn’t buy a ticket at this show. :-)

The props were simple, almost inexistent, but who needed props in such an enchanting setting? A small statue of the Virgin Mary in the middle of the scene, a table at the back, the painting on a wooden stand and that’s about it. The clothing was casual, Mario in white trousers and purple shirt, Tosca in blue, a little curvy and rather British :-), Scarpia in a grey costume, with a red tie, and his people pretty much the same.

Scarpia’s desk, another small table and two chairs represent the props of the second act. On the desk there is a lamp, a goblet, an ashtray, and a phone, too, but not a mobile one, but one with a wheel, and old even for such a model. Beside there was a plate with food, modern food, without additives, a boiled potato, a broccoli, two boiled carrots, a Bruxelles cabbage. Scarpia eats bio.:-)

The same Scarpia uses a fork, whose "petals" he breaks, as in a "she love me or not" game. Then a Mario is brought in, a little phlegmatic, as he is during the entire show, and now two other interesting elements appear: Mario’s torture happens on the scene, at the back, and so is that of Floria Tosca as well as the choir’s chant at the beginning of the second act, before Tosca’s coming into the Roman policeman’ office. I don’t know if it was because of the lack of space - it would have been hard for both the choir and the torture chamber to be placed "at the back", that is in the sea :-) - but the settlement of the two events on the scene helped the public to actually see what was happening and to create this way a better image of the events.

"Vissi d`arte, vissi d`amore"... "I lived for art, I lived for love." How strange everything sounded, even if it is in a language that I know.

"This is the kiss of Tosca." Scarpia struggles, then dies. "He`s dead! " says Tosca, and the public laughs!!

Somehow justified, as after the end of the spasms, it was obvious that he had died.

"And in front of him the entire Rome trembled! " - "E avanti a lui tremava tutta Roma! "

the third act, the foam of the sea, at dusk. "E lucevan le stelle". Adica "I remember the stars" ("Imi amintesc stelele"). Potrivita traducerea, tinand cont ca erau nori gri-negri pe cer si nu se vedeau stele.

Here comes Tosca, an orange lit fog behind her.
O dolci mani - Your hands so lovely!
Mansuete e pure - Lovelier than flowers!

Mario and Floria are kissing “truly", the 7 soldiers in black come with their guns for the final scene. "Die, Mario! "... and Mario falls, while the orange fog seems brighter, "He is so beautiful, my Mario! "

Scarpia’s people come, Tosca runs at the end of the scene, towards the sea, jump! Spoletta looks down after her, but the sea has swallowed her!

But the most surprising moment of the evening happened... after the show! The artists came one by one on the scene for the applause. First the choir, then the leading actors, in a line, in front of the choir. But if Mario and Tosca were met with ovations, the negative character, Scarpia, was booed, I mean "booo" actually said with the mouth! I couldn’t believe it! :-)

“Beginner’s luck..." From Minack theatre, Porthcurno to Penzance there were a three hour distance walking or 14 kilometers in the metric system. :-) But I found a coach that I thought was the opera’s - by the way, the Surrey Opera created the show - but it belonged to a group of students from Reading who had come in Cornwall in a holiday and the driver was kind and took me to Penzance. Where I had some hours to kill until the 5 a.m. train! :D

The British trip to Palazzo Farnese and Castel Sant`Angelo was interesting, special and very pleasant - about the same words that weren’t translated into English, but in what regards the musicality, I unquestionably prefer the Italian version. Anyway, to listen a famous opera in English is agreeable and worthwhile, and even more so by the sea. ;-)

Distribution

Tosca: Laura Hudson
Cavaradossi: Andrew Bain
Scarpia: Tim Baldwin and Nicholas Warden
Angelotti: James Schouten
Sacristan: Rob Trainer
Spoletta: Gareth Edmunds
Sciarrone: Rod Searle

Conductor: Jonathan Butcher
Director: Jonathan Butcher
Lights: Robert Callendar

Nota actuala: 9 (din 1 note acordate) - Acorda o nota!

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