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Published: 13 May 2010
by SEBASTIAN TAYLOR 

EXPECTATIONS are building up greatly in advance of next week’s premiere of English National Opera’s new production of Puccini’s Tosca at the Coliseum that is likely to have a new take on the cheated heroine.

Directing the new production is soprano Catherine Malfitano, acclaimed for her portrayals of Tosca in opera houses all over the world. In her own prod­uction of Puccini’s opera the role is being sung by South African soprano Amanda Echalez, now resident in London.

She has already received plaudits for her Tosca performances at Opera Holland Park and, last July, at the Royal Opera House when she took over at short notice from an indisposed Angela Gheorghiu.

One critic hailed her as “the leading Tosca of her generation,” another that she was “the Tosca we have all been waiting for”. 

Julian Anthony Michaels-Moore will be Scarpia and Julian Gavin will be Cavaradossi.

Next week’s Tosca is one of three new productions during the ENO’s summer season. Second of the ENO’s new productions in early June will be Bizet’s Pearl Fishers directed by film-maker Penny Woolcock and with award-winning tenor Alfie Boe as Ndir.

Third, Mozart’s mature masterpiece Idomeneo directed by Katie Mitchell will follow in the second half of next month.

And last, but not least, the ENO is continuing its quest to take opera to people put off by the rituals of West End opera houses. 

Together with “im­mersive” theatre company Punch­drunk, it will give the world premiere of new opera The Duchess of Malfi by German composer Torsten Rasch at a vacant site at a quay in the Royal Albert Basin. The Punchdrunk format, similar to “promenade theatre,” involves productions where audiences can come and go as they please, explore the scenery, treating the production as an add-on to the experience, not the central feature.

Should be fun even it it’s not opera as usually experienced.

• Tosca opens on Tuesday in the first of 14 performances until July 10 – see listings