Maija Kovalevska sings Tosca with WA Opera at His Majesty’s Theatre, Perth

Love and death, passion and oppression. Giacomo Puccini’s opera Tosca runs the gamut of fate from fine romance to bloody revenge, and Latvian-born soprano Maija Kovalevska has the luminous charm to hold it together. She stars with tenor Paul O’Neill, bass baritone Warwick Fyfe and a constellation of WA Opera cast and chorus at His Majesty’s Theatre this month in a production channelling the violent era of 1970s Italy, dubbed the “years of lead”. There’s also a touch of the dolce vita in cinematic costumes and design from an Opera Queensland original production that debuted in 2019 BC (Before COVID). Kovalevska fell in love with opera listening to Bizet’s Spanish-style extravaganza Carmen in Latvia’s capital, Riga, aged six. She studied in Italy under the late, great Mirella Freni, whose recordings of Puccini operas are some of the finest and most moving. “For many years I was blessed — she gave me so much,” Kovalevska says. She has sung her signature role of Mimi, the tragic heroine of La boheme (also by Puccini), at New York’s Met and London’s Covent Garden, among a list of credits spanning the globe. Yet it’s only her second time as Tosca, an opera diva who is drawn into intrigue by a painting in a Roman church. So it seemed fated that Today caught up with her at the Sistine Chapel exhibition at Fremantle’s Naval Store, where replicas of Michelangelo’s florid Vatican art adorn the stark warehouse space. Who is Tosca? “First of all she’s a wonderful woman, an opera singer, so that makes it easier for me because I don’t have to be someone else, I can be just myself,” Kovalevska says. “Opera singers are artists and creative people and I think it’s all about art and power and how artists struggled during the time. “Every time, you cannot spot a period where artists have been very happy. They’ve always gone through difficulties.” Tosca debuted in 1900 and was originally set in 19th-century Rome in an era of oppression which invites parallels to current events, with the clash of autocracy versus liberty playing out not far from Kovalevska’s homeland. Yet she, like Tosca, really only wants to dwell on her art. In one sublime aria, Tosca sings, “Vissi d’arte, vissi d’amore, Non feci mai male ad anima viva!” — “I have lived for art, I have lived for love, I never hurt a soul” — lamenting the machinations that drag her into strife. Her lover, the painter Cavadossi (O’Neill) carelessly paints a woman’s portrait that connects him to a political rebel, Angelotti (Jake Bigwood). This arouses Tosca’s jealousy which catches the attention of police chief Scarpia (Fyfe) who then turns his eye on the couple, and the die is cast. “Everything is already in the score,” Kovalevska says. “Giacomo Puccini already put all the intentions of the characters, even the moves, the moment where she spots the knife and really sees that’s a possibility to end evil and end Scarpia’s power over innocent people.” The clash of innocence and evil could be set in any time, she says. “Particularly in this production, (director) Patrick Nolan says that she really stood for her rights in this moment, she was strong and powerful not only as an artist, she was brave to fight this powerful man, which for a woman is not easy, it hasn’t been easy, historically,” Kovalevska says. “She shows us that a woman can have rights and she can fight for her own career and life. “It’s important to understand that this opera was showing female power, in a way. In these circumstances she was forced into killing that person. However, her character shows she’s not only an opera singer doing her job but she’s also a woman like everyone.” Perhaps to emphasise that point, the supporting characters are almost all male, with a maid (Jillian Halleron) the only exception. Callen Dellar, Matthew Lester, Lachlann Lawton, Mark Alderson and Steve Sherwood complete the roll call. “Verismo”, or “reality” opera, was big in Puccini’s Italy, with graphic descriptions of crimes of passion ending in tragedy and grief; perhaps “visceral” could be an alternative translation. Importantly, the style shows the true feelings of real people, Kovalevska says. “In this way it will be easy for audiences to understand this person, and to feel like, ‘What I would do in their situation’,” she says. “It lets you think and be closer, to Puccini’s music, first of all, which is so powerful, emotional, romantic and passionate, and also the story. You are sucked in — it’s almost like a thriller, you cannot wait to see what’s happening next.” Puccini deliberately draws the audience into the action, Kovalevska says. “Puccini’s idea with his music and with his story was to make people believe what he’s doing, and our responsibility, of course, as artists is to be as believable and credible as we can,” she says. Against the rich backdrop of Michelangelo’s art, Kovalevska literally shines; first reflecting the momentous events depicted on massive panels around her, then breaking into a Mona Lisa smile before unleashing a dazzling beam. Sadly, the lifespan of operatic heroines is notoriously brief. Mimi dies of tuberculosis, and Tosca meets her own melodramatic end in the finale. Does Kovalevska ever tire of dying? “Actually, yes,” she says, flashing a conspiratorial grin. Tosca is at His Majesty’s Theatre from July 14-23. Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition is at Naval Store, Fremantle, until July 17.