Tosca offers two hours of action and passion, captured in a torrent of lyricism and luxuriant orchestration and a libretto that is as effective as a motion picture scenario. With the city of Rome as a backdrop, the opera tells a realistic story of passion and politics, overshadowed, from the moment the curtain rises, by Scarpia, the terrifying chief of police whose toxic personality gradually poisons the atmosphere of this oppressive huis clos. Tosca is at Crystal Palace Bowl until 29 August.Can a diva be the heroine of an opera? The beautiful and sanguine Tosca is perhaps the most striking character penned by Puccini, inspired by a role Sarah Bernhardt created for the theatre.

These could easily be sorted out next year, if ENO decides to make this enjoyable experiment an annual fixture. From the stage to the back of the audience is a long way, and it was hard to spot pick out characters wearing dark colours against the black-clad orchestra. Surtitles would have helped so, too, would camerawork that better anticipated the entrances and exits. No soprano should have to sing the first, pianissimo phrases of Tosca’s Vissi d’Arte – Love and Music, in Edmund Tracey’s serviceable, occasionally old-fashioned translation – into a head mic, yet even when she had to scale her voice right back her control never slipped. Then there was Natalya Romaniw’s Tosca, who had real fire beneath her haughty exterior, and often sounded glorious.

It was similarly easy to relish Roland Wood’s deliciously evil, suavely sung Scarpia. It was easy to root for Kim, a real rising star his singing was sweet-toned and beautifully shaped, but with power in reserve. The musical success was partly down to the urgency and liveliness Richard Farnes’s conducting brought to the music, and partly to the quality of the cast. Enjoyable ENO experiment … David Junghoon Kim and Simon Shibambu in Tosca.

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