It is astonishing how many current opera reviews state that everyone in the cast was good. Either I have been attending all the wrong performances or my colleagues are simply not being discriminating enough. But Sunday afternoon at the New York City Opera, each cast member of the season premiere of Puccini’s “Tosca” was actually in fine voice and blended expertly in thespian style.

In this justly heralded Mark Lamos production, the action takes place in Fascist Italy, the sets of Michael Yeargan are frighteningly stark, and the lighting of Robert Wierzel is uncompromisingly blood red. With this type of backdrop, it was somewhat surprising that director Beth Greenberg kept the acting low-key, but that was just as well: This was music making of a high quality, from the minor characters to the leads.

Kitty Cook sang the shepherd’s song charmingly in Romanesque dialect. Christopher Jackson was a conspiratorial Spoletta. Michael Wanko was a decidedly under-the-top Sacristan, keeping his sight gags and pratfalls to a minimum as befitted the understated acting technique of the troupe as a whole. And Cesare Angelotti was an eloquent and empathetic criminal when played by Matthew Burns.

Todd Thomas’s Baron Scarpia was more than pure evil; he was a conflicted human being, drawn not by lust but rather his own perverse sense of romantic, obsessive love. Many fine stars are defeated by the role of Scarpia, as they project too much of their own personalities – the last two Scarpias at the Met, for example, have been nice guys who let you know it. Mr. Thomas may love dogs and children offstage, but there was little sense of his softer side in this performance. He was Iago dressed as a 1930s blackshirt.

Of course, everyone waits for the review of the soprano. Carla Thelen Hanson put over a strong Floria Tosca, commanding and self-confident. Her pitch control was usually steady and her phrasing was measured and somewhat noble, upper class. In terms of hitting the notes, she was better than average, although her ability to move the crowd was somewhat lacking. There was little sense of pity or power in her voice. Her Vissi d’arte was decidedly cool and calculated rather than warm and wounded.

Best of the lot was Cuban tenor Jorge Antonio Pita. Here is a lyric tenor with an excellent ability to capture an audience. There is just enough of a gravel sound in his throat to produce a lump in mine. Not the strongest of instruments perhaps in terms of volume, the voice remains just about perfect for Mr. Pita to paint, in the eye of the ear, a masterful portrait of the artist Cavaradossi. His “E lucevan le stele” was delivered with just the right touch of morbidezza – that is, a sense of impending death – rare in the modern world of gingerly coached singers.

Relative newcomer John DeMain conducted a subtly colorful performance. The members of City Opera’s orchestra can play this music in their sleep, but they were wide awake for this rich rendition. There were spots where the intensity level could have been ratcheted up – in the bell section of Act III for example – but this was stirring accompaniment.

Overall, this was the best performance at City Opera thus far this season. A good starter “Tosca,” if not one for the ages.

***

Historically, the premiere of “Tosca” in 1900 is perhaps most interesting because of two men who were not there. The composer had previously promised the assignment to Toscanini in Milan, but acquiesed to the idea of launching the work in Rome because of the local connection to the story. Puccini was also fond of a young tenor at the Teatro Costanzi, where the maiden performance took place, but was overruled in his choice of Enrico Caruso for Cavaradossi in favor of the more experienced Emilio de Marchi.