The Welsh opera superstar, Bryn Terfel, has triumphed in Covent Garden’s new Jonathan Kent production of Puccini’s Tosca. Critic David Mellor called the performance “the best Scarpia I have seen in the theatre.” He was more critical though of the other star of the night, Angela Gheorghiu.

“Bryn doesn’t see his talent as a reason to puff himself up like some artists. But I’ll come to Angela Gheorghiu later. Off-stage, he simply reverts to being the Welsh countryman who likes nothing more than to live the simple life with his family on his North Wales farm.”

And the “divine” Angela? “Even [she] mostly seemed to meet Kent’s requirements, although hers, after all the hype, was a disappointing evening. Tosca is a spoilt, wilful diva, which, on the face of it, shouldn’t have posed Miss Gheorghiu too many problems on the acting front. But hers is a sketchy assumption and, more fatally, her voice is too small for the part.”

Ouch! But a good Tosca overall.