Fortunately, as with other instances where replacements have had to be found at Covent Garden in recent weeks, the audience did not have to settle for second best.  Angela Gheorghiu, one of opera's biggest names, and perhaps the most famous and gifted soprano currently associated with the role of Tosca, was available for the opening night and two further performances. 

Not having heard Gheorghiu as Tosca before, I must confess to having been sceptical of her ability to convince in a role more usually tackled by spinto sopranos or dramatic voices like that of Voigt.  Recordings of live performances from recent seasons at La Scala and the Met indicated that Gheorghiu was no longer at the height of her powers, and much has been said about her lack of volume, particularly in the middle and lower reaches of her instrument.  It was a delight, therefore, to hear from her very first entrance that either the issues have been addressed, or they did not exist in the first place.  Her singing was so assured that one was never aware of the process, only the highly expressive results.  Her sound filled the house without apparent effort, either in the middle of her middle voice during the richly orchestrated Act I love duet, or the highly dramatic outbursts on top notes in the Act II torture scene.  Her complete freedom from technical issues allowed her to phrase instinctively and with great style, producing a multitude of beautiful colours, particularly when singing piano.

Dramatically, Gheorghiu was also extremely impressive.  She entered as a playful young woman, very much in love.  All the jealousy was toned down and dealt with lightly so that it seemed more like a ruse to get kisses from Cavaradossi, rather than the unattractive character flaw as which it usually come across.  That Gheorghiu was able to succeed with this approach meant that one was not forced to wonder, as is often the case, why Cavaradossi puts up with her.  The ease and naturalness of their love, when set up in this way, made one care more deeply for Tosca when she was tricked by Scarpia before the Te Deum and during her Act II ordeal, and it also made Tosca's journey to the more human woman of Act III, stripped of vanity and other Diva trappings, less of a distance.  Between resolving issues of characterisation that even Callas said she struggled with, and dominating all the vocal challenges of this difficult part, Gheorghiu's Tosca was as fine a role assumption as one could hope to experience today.