Giacomo Puccini s TOSCA March 24, :00 PM - Encore Theater English Subtitles

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Giacomo Puccini s TOSCA March 24, 2017 1:00 PM - Encore Theater English Subtitles The opera plot was derived from a play by Victorien Sardou that was premiered in Paris in 1887.

Ricordi did that, and in 1893, but he assigned the property to another composer.

That maestro, who under the best of circumstances was famous as being a difficult person to work with, was so miffed at being the publisher s second choice that he promptly turned it down!

1 Giacomo Puccini s TOSCA March 24, :00 PM - Encore Theater English Subtitles The opera plot was derived from a play by Victorien Sardou that was premiered in Paris in After seeing a performance in Milan with Sarah Berhardt in the title role, Puccini asked his publisher, the house of Ricordi, to acquire the rights so he could adapt it into an opera. Ricordi did that, and in 1893, but he assigned the property to another composer. After several years during which that composer tried without success to find the muse for the composition of such an opus, he admitted defeat. Only then did Ricordi offer it to Puccini. That maestro, who under the best of circumstances was famous as being a difficult person to work with, was so miffed at being the publisher s second choice that he promptly turned it down! It was only through the personal intercession of Giuseppe Verdi, who persuaded Puccini that it was a great vehicle for his talents, that he agreed to take on that challenge. PRINCIPAL CAST Fiorenze Cedolins as Floria Tosca Marcelo Alvarez as Mario Cavaradossi Ruggero Raimondi as Baron Scarpia Note: This performance was recorded live on the stage of the huge Romanbuilt, stone Arena in Verona, Italy. While there is no curtain or proscenium arch, the opera is presented just as Puccini wrote it. Runtime: 119 minutes Filmed live in 2006 at "Arena di Verona DVD released 2011 by Arthaus MPAA not rated ASIN: B005G02RIC 1 of 7

2 PLOT The year is An important underlying element of the story is the political landscape as it existed at the time, for it explains the action. Napoleon has begun his string of European conquests at the head of the French army, fighting (at least at that time) against the forces of repression represented by the Bourbon kings and the Catholic Church. The battle of Marengo has just occurred in the north of the Italian Alps, and to the delight of the authorities and religious populace in Rome, Bonaparte s defeat was reported. Until recently, the city-state of Rome was ruled by a republican government. But, reactionary forces backed by the Catholic Church had overthrown it and installed a despotic regime with its chief of police, Baron Scarpia, a thoroughly evil man who tortures political prisoners and is a letch to boot. ACT ONE: The church of Sant Angelo in Rome As the action begins, we are in the empty church of Sant Angelo (a real place in Rome - as are all three venues in the opera). An injured man enters and furtively searches for a hidden object. He is Angelotti, a former consul of the republic and member of the noble Attavanti family. He has just escaped the police and has come here because his sister, the Marchese Attavanti, has hidden female clothing, including a woman s fan with the Attavanti family crest, in their family crypt for her brother to use in evading re-capture. He finally finds what he seeks: it s the key to the crypt. When the sacristan (church deacon) enters, he hides in the crypt. Our tenor hero, the portrait painter Mario Cavaradossi arrives to resume painting a huge mural of Mary Magdalena for the church. He sings his opening aria Recondite armonia in which he compares the dark eyes of his lover, the diva Floria Tosca, with the blue eyes of the unknown lady in his painting. The sacristan exits and Angelotti reappears. Our hero recognizes him and offers his help. Suddenly they hear footsteps outside. Mario tells him to hide again, handing the hungry man the basket of food the sacristan had left. A new character enters, and we meet the opera s title character, Floria Tosca. She is a pious Catholic with an admirable character. But she has a single fatal flaw: she s extremely and unjustifiably jealous. And just as in Shakespeare s play Othello, that flaw will ultimately undo both herself and her lover. She s sure she heard muffled sounds of two persons talking (one of whom is nowhere to be seen) and is certain it was another woman. We re then treated to a long and melodious duet that began with Mario, Mario even before she appeared on stage. 2 of 7

3 With some difficulty Mario finally manages to allay her suspicions. But as she is about to leave, she recognizes the lady in the portrait as the Marchese Attavanti, and she s off again. She admits she s wrong to suspect him, but before exiting, she tells him to repaint the eyes to make them dark, like hers. As soon as Angelotti comes out of the crypt, a cannon announces discovery of his escape. Realizing that Angelotti must quickly hide somewhere else, Mario offers him the use his villa until it s dark. He decides to accompany him so he can show him the estate s well in which he could hide. The sacristan returns with a group of altar boys who will be singing a Te Deum that evening in honor of the supposed victory over Napoleon s forces. Abruptly, their gay celebration is cut short by the ominous sound of the orchestra s 3-note brass cadence. Puccini uses it as the leit-motif that tells us that the villain will soon appear. (We heard it in the overture and we will hear it again in the second act.) Its purpose is to convey a sense of dread in the heart of everyone on stage, as well as those in the audience. And it works! The entire mood in the church darkens when Scarpia and several of his henchmen enter, searching for Angelotti. Scarpia, who is as shrewd as he is cruel, reasoned that the prisoner s family crypt was a likely place to start. While he and his men are searching the crypt, Tosca returns. Bad timing! Scarpia s villainous mind now goes to work, as he describes to us in the audience his twin goals: (i) hanging both Angelotti and Mario; and (ii) forcing himself sexually on the distraught and helpless Tosca. He will play upon her jealousy to get her to lead him to the escapee s hiding place. He shows Tosca the fan his men found in the crypt and tells her it was found near Mario s work area. Having planted this seed of poison, he eggs her on until she is convinced that she d interrupted a secret love tryst. She leaves in a huff, intending to catch them in the act. Scarpia brags that, like Iago, he has planted seeds of jealousy in his victim s mind and this will result in the success of his evil plan. He tells his men to follow her, correctly predicting that she will lead them to the escaped prisoner. As we hear Scarpia gloat at his impending double victory, we watch an everincreasing assemblage of church-goers convening in preparation of tonight s celebratory Mass. As the church continues to be filled with a host of clerics and parishioners in a reverent procession upstage, Scarpia is downstage expressing his decidedly irreverent thoughts to us. And in the general hubbub, we hear Scarpia utter one of opera s great curtain lines: TOSCA, YOU MAKE ME FORGET GOD! Thus ends Act One. 3 of 7

4 ACT TWO: The Farnese Palace, later that evening This building serves as Scarpia s police headquarters and torture chamber. He has been taking his dinner alone on its top floor as he awaits word on what his men had found after tailing Tosca to Angelotti s hiding place. Now we get another look into this man s soul, as he reveals to us his attitudes toward the sex act. Expanding on his aria in Act One, he tells us that unlike other men, he doesn t derive his sexual satisfaction from his partner s loving looks or sweet terms of endearment, but rather, when she looks at him with pure and unadulterated hatred. (Nice guy, huh?) His aide Spoletta enters to say that Tosca led them to Cavaradossi s estate, but Angelotti had not been found. Enraged, Scarpia starts to attack Spoletta, who saves himself by announcing that Cavaradossi had been taken into custody and is now waiting to be interrogated. Scarpia is delighted, and has the prisoner brought before him. Mario defiantly refuses to admit anything. But then Tosca enters. She s come in response to his written note, and hopes that her fame and diva status will enable her to save her lover. But we know that she is no match for Scarpia s machinations. He has Mario taken away to be tortured while he makes his move on her. She makes it clear that she detests him and forcefully rejects his advances. Most men would be turned off, but not this guy! As he s just told us, he prefers his victims hating him as he forces himself on them (or, more accurately, rapes them). So his ardor is all the greater for Tosca s outright rejection. He tries a new tactic. Mario, now bloody and near collapse, is brought in. As Tosca struggles to take in this disturbing image, Scarpia s aide enters to announce that the reported victory at the Battle of Marengo had been wrong and Napoleon s army won. At this, the bloody Cavaradossi raises himself to his full height and shouts out Vittoria! Vittoria! Tosca remains silent. Scarpia has Mario taken for further interrogation and denies Tosca s request to see him, but allows them to exchange shouts. The unseen Cavaradossi shouts he can withstand the torture and admonishes Tosca to say nothing. The next scene is sometimes decried as too gruesome for the sensibilities of operaphiles: the prisoner screams in pain but remains defiant. But Scarpia knows his business. (As does Puccini.) With Cavaradossi s screams in Tosca s ears, Scarpia tells her she can end his pain by revealing Angelotti s hidingplace. She resists until she can stand no more and promises to tell if he will make the torture stop. He orders it stopped, and she reveals the hiding place in Cavaradossi s well. 4 of 7

5 Scarpia directs that Cavaradossi be brought back into the room. Bloodier than ever, he asks her, sotto voce, what she told them. She says she revealed nothing. Scarpia twists the knife as only a master villain can: he loudly tells his men that Angelotti will be found hiding in the well. Knowing that she lied, Mario denounces her as a traitor and is again removed. Scarpia increases the pressure, she continues to reject him. Finally, as drums are heard he tells her they will soon be sounded as Mario is being led to the gallows. Spoletta enters to announce that Angelotti had been found in the well, but he committed suicide before he could be apprehended. Angrily, Scarpia directs that his corpse be hung up for public scrutiny. (His evilness knows no bounds.) Now Scarpia dangles the bait he knows she can t refuse: only by submitting to him then and there can she save Mario s life. Tosca sings: Vissi d arte (I have lived for art), one of the most sublime three minute arias in all of opera. With Scarpia upstage, she contemplates her situation. In utter despair, the devout Tosca speaks directly to God, describing her blameless life, never harming another human being, supporting art, love and the Church, donating jewelry to icons of the Madonna, singing gratis for worthy causes, etc. Why?, she plaintively asks God, why do you now treat me thus? It s an aria you cannot listen to without sharing in her heart-ache. But Tosca is also a fighter. She demands as her price that Scarpia first make out and hand her a safe-conduct pass that will allow her and Cavaradossi to leave Rome the next day. He readily agrees, and even lets her dictate the terms as he writes them. He then calls in his man and tells him that he has altered the method of execution. Instead of hanging, it will be a firing squad, adding that it will be a mock execution just the way we executed Palmieri. (We know it will not be a fake execution at all, but Tosca mistakenly believes she has saved her lover s life.) Scarpia s henchman says he understands his (coded) instructions, and exits. She asks his price, and he replies, in mock reverence to his duty to see that the law is carried out, BUT, he says, he will break his oath and save her lover s life in return for a brief moment in hers. Disgusted beyond words, she assents silently to submitting to him. She sees a large bread-knife next to Scarpia s empty dinner platter and hides it in her hand. When he approaches her, intent on getting his first kiss, she stabs him, crying out here is Tosca s kiss. As he falls to the floor, mortally wounded, Tosca bends over him and grimly asks if he is already choking on his own blood. Thrice she utters the single word Mori (die), and when he finally dies, she mutters over his lifeless body, now I can forgive him. Contemptuously, she adds and before him, all Rome once trembled. Those are the last words spoken in the act. But, watch! 5 of 7

6 We see a wordless tableau that reflects Puccini s stagecraft. Frantically, Tosca searches his desk for the precious safe-conduct pass, finally locating it: it s still in Scarpia s grasp! Silently, she removes the document. Then, in devout Christian tradition, she places a crucifix at this head and feet, folds his hands over his chest, retrieves her outer wrap and silently leaves the stage. ACT THREE: The roof atop the jail where the execution will take place The final act is a half-hour of wonderfully evocative music that showcases again, Puccini s talent for squeezing the audience s emotions. It is almost dawn. Church bells sound as a young boy sings a bucolic song that contrasts the serenity of the morning with the harsh realities we expect to see. Cavaradossi has been told he has an hour to live. He bribes a guard to let him write a farewell letter to his beloved Tosca, whom he expects never to see again, as he sings E lucivan la stelle (and the stars were shining) expressing his love for her. Its last heart-wrenching line is and never have I loved life more than this moment. To add to its pathos, its last word is La Vita (life). Tosca appears and joyously announces that she has a safe-conduct pass for the two of them. What s more, she has killed Scarpia in the bargain. Of course, he is overcome at the news. Gently, he sings a sweet arietta O dolce mani (O sweet hands) marveling that they could perform such a violent deed. After another glorious love duet, she tells him he must go through a mock execution, and describes how to fall while pretending to be shot, then he must remain still until the firing squad leaves. She goes upstage to watch as the firing squad enters and he is placed in position for the execution, all to martial music that connotes the seriousness of the tableau. She continues to quietly encourage him to remember her acting instructions. Then, when the shots are fired and he falls, she commends him for how well he followed instructions. When the soldiers are gone, she tells Cavaradossi to get up so they can flee quickly before Scarpia s body is discovered. Only then does she realize that the mock execution had been real, and he was actually shot dead! The opera rushes to its conclusion as the soldiers return to the roof to announce that Scarpia s body has been discovered. As Puccini wrote the opera, before the soldiers can grab her, she climbs to the top of the roof embattlement and cries out SCARPIA, WE WILL MEET BEFORE GOD. For reasons I cannot imagine, the director omits that tableau and instead has her climb to the top of a huge prop statue. 6 of 7

7 We are left to infer that she jumps to her death, as the orchestra sounds a double fortissimo reprise of E lucivan le stelle. But the overall production is so good that even that senseless (unforgivable?) change can be forgiven, for the overall production was so marvelous to this point. And as the stage goes dark, if you re like me, you ll first just sit there in stunned silence. Only when the lights come up and the singers come out to take their final bows will your senses allow you to return to reality. SOME FINAL COMMENTS As you leave the Encore Theater after watching this opera, which is one of my all-time favorites (and judging by the frequency of its performance around the world, most other operaphiles agree) I believe you will join me in admiring how Puccini was able to compose music that so greatly increased the emotional impact of Sardou s original tearjerker of a drama. To my mind, no one can leave the theater after watching this opera without having been in touch with some aspects of his inner being. Certainly that s always the case with me. I hope that today it has done the same for all of you. NEXT WEEK Next week, Gene and I will present a film we re giving at the express plea of a faithful member of our audience who has repeatedly asked to see a movie by the hugely successful musical team of the 1930s and 40s: Nelson Eddy and Jeannette MacDonald. From their copious output, I ve selected Rose Marie first, because it s probably their best, and second, because it contains the added nuance that in the movie, Ms MacDonald plays an opera singer, and the closing number in the movie is a clip of the last scene from Tosca. Perhaps you, too, are one who remember fondly the times before the advent of television, when as children, our parents schlepped us to the the movies so they could sit enthralled by the hokey love duets they sang during the team s heyday. Steve Schwartz 7 of 7

Lesson 7. 학습자료 10# 어법 어휘 Special Edition Q. 다음글의밑줄친부분이어법또는문맥상맞으면 T, 틀리면찾아서바르게고치시오. ( ) Wish you BETTER than Today 1

Lesson 7. 학습자료 10# 어법 어휘 Special Edition Q. 다음글의밑줄친부분이어법또는문맥상맞으면 T, 틀리면찾아서바르게고치시오. ( ) Wish you BETTER than Today 1 Lesson 7. Q. 다음글의밑줄친부분이어법또는문맥상맞으면 T, 틀리면찾아서바르게고치시오. My school s drama club is preparing Shakespeare s play The Merchant of Venice so that we can perform it at our school festival in August, and I have