Check out some of the interviews that Adrianne did as she prepared to reprise her acclaimed role of Tosca with the Canadian Opera Company in Toronto.
And the first reviews are in…
Adrianne Pieczonka appears as Tosca at the COC
“Adrianne Pieczonka’s Tosca the best thing in COC’s production of Puccini classic. [Pieczonka] uses her own theatrical shrewdness and innate likeability to scrape away the years of theatrical artifice from the role and offer us a diva-free zone. Her Tosca begins as a good-time girl, charming, playful, quick to become jealous, quicker to forgive, more anxious to discuss her late night rendezvous with her lover than worry about the finer points of Franco-Italian politics. But when reality intrudes in Act II and she comes face to face with the evil lust and intellectual duplicity of Baron Scarpia, she grows up very quickly indeed. At this crucial moment in the opera, Pieczonka sinks to the floor like a sad little rag doll who’s had all the stuffing torn out of her and, in a moment of silent clarity, looks at life anew. This means that the famous aria, “Vissi d’arte” becomes so much more than a beautiful chance for her to sing. As the simple words and haunting melody float upward, Pieczonka’s airy yet rich tones sound as though she was filling them with her soul, instead of mere breath. It’s a moment of transcendent beauty that carries the artist through her murder of Scarpia, her revulsion afterwards, and the grand sweeping arc of the final act that leaves her with no other choice than to leap from the battlements to join her lover in death. In Pieczonka’s hands, this becomes the stuff of tragedy, not melodrama.” (Toronto Star, 22 January 2012)
“Pieczonka leaps from note to note in a stunning display of mature artistry, tracing the path of her heroine’s descent into hell with surefooted skill.” (Toronto Sun, 22 January 2012)
“[Pieczonka] gave a luminous performance of Vissi d’arte in Act Two, sung while on her knees.” (Globe and Mail, 23 January 2012)
“…with vivid acting, a dignified bearing, and gleaming high notes [Adrianne Pieczonka] made a formidable impression.” (National Post, 22 January 2012)
