operawire.com
As Scarpia, veteran baritone Roberto Frontali was terrifying. At the age of 67, he retains a refined sound that can ride over the largest ensembles. His diction is perfection, each word getting the emphasis needed. And his presence is imposing. The moment he walked on stage and sang “un tal baccano in chiesa,” his voice boomed into the auditorium with authority and an ominous presence. His ensuing duet with Tosca, saw the baritone sing with a suave timbre that emphasized this Scarpia’s calculating qualities while in the “Te Deum,” he stood downstage and let his full voice out, singing over the chorus. His Scarpia was contained but you could hear in his voice, the desire for Tosca as he sang “Tosca mi far dimenticare iddio.”
That desire grew in Act two as he began “Tosca è un buon falco” and later “Ha piu forte sappore.” The baritone sang with flowing lines and as he went up to the higher extension of the voice, he emphasized the lustful qualities of his Scarpia. His voice grew in volume and he began emoting certain phrases to emphasize those emotions. But in other moments especially at the beginning of his exchange with Tosca he began with a suave vocal delivery, emphasizing this Scarpia’s sarcasm. This slowly built a commanding darker timbre in his delivery of “Aprite le porte” and as he repeated “Piu forte,” one could feel his menacing qualities. But later he went back to that refined sound in “Gia- Mi dicon venal, ma a donna bella non mi vendo.” But Frontali couldn’t hold back as he rose to the higher notes and as he ended the aria, his “Mia!” and “Ti Voglio” became more aggressive and lecherous. Physically Frontali also began a cat and mouse chase with Isotton looming over her at every moment as he moved around a car on stage, never leaving her visage. The movements became even more violent as the act evolved eventually taking Isotton by force. Isotton and Frotali brought violence to the scene in an organic way and once his Scarpia was murdered one could feel relief.
Francisco Salazar
operaclick.com
Partendo da questo presupposto, è perfetta la scelta di scritturare per la parte Roberto Frontali, che è attore e artista misuratissimo cui basta un’alzata di sopracciglio per definire uno Scarpia gelido e spietato.
Paolo Locatelli
GBopera.it
Lontano dai soliti clichés demoniaci lo Scarpia, piuttosto introverso, di Roberto Frontali, la cui interpretazione si fonda su un fraseggio incisivo, oltre che su una vocalità duttile e nobilmente timbrata.
Roberto Campanella
