Tosca: A Student Study Guide

STUDENT STUDY GUIDE

MUSIC BY GIACOMO PUCCINI GIUSEPPE GIACOSA

Esther Nelson Stanford Calderwood General & Artistic Director David Angus Music Director John Conklin Artistic Advisor

October 11, 2017

Dear Educator, Boston Lyric Opera is pleased to invite high school and college students to attend Final Dress Rehearsals throughout our Season. We look forward to seeing you and your students at the Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre for BLO's production of Puccini's Tosca.

The experience of seeing and hearing live, professional opera is second to none. And we encourage you to explore the world of the opera in your classroom as well. We are proud to offer this study guide to support your discussions and preparations for Tosca. We’ve included special insights into this particular production as well as the opera’s history with connections to Social Studies and English Language Arts.

Boston Lyric Opera’s mission is to build curiosity, enthusiasm, and support for opera. This study guide is one way in which we support the incredible work of educators like you, who are inspired by this beautiful art form and introduce it to your students. As we continue to develop additional study guides this season, we want your feedback. Please tell us about how you use this guide and how it can best serve your needs by emailing education@blo.org.

If you’re interested in additional opera education opportunities with Boston Lyric Opera, please visit blo.org/education to discover more about our programs.

We look forward to seeing you at the theatre!

Sincerely,

Rebecca Ann S. Kirk Manager of Education Programs

TABLE OF CONTENTS HISTORY OF OPERA: AN OVERVIEW .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 4 THE SCIENCE AND ART OF OPERA......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 7 TOSCA SYNOPSIS................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 11 A FRENCH PLAY SET IN ROME................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 13 TOSCA THE OPERA...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 14 REALISM, VERISMO, AND LA VIE QUOTIDIENNE........................................................................................................................................................................... 15 TOSCAS THROUGHOUT TIME............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 16 TOSCA: HEROINE OR VICTIM?................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 17 OH, THE DRAMA!................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 18 LISTEN UP!..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 19 RESOURCES............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 21 NOTES TO PREPARE FOR THE OPERA............................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 22

THE HISTORY OF OPERA Toccata from L’Orfeo. Claudio Monteverdi Favola in musica. Reprint of the First Edition of the Score, Venice 1609, via Wikimedia Commons

People have been telling stories through music for millennia throughout the world. Opera is an art form with roots in Western Europe dating back hundreds of years. Here is a brief timeline of its lineage.

RENAISSANCE 1573 The Florentine Camerata was founded in Italy, devoted to reviving ancient Greek musical traditions, including sung drama.

1598 Jacopo Peri, a member of the Camerata, composed the world’s first opera – Dafne, reviving the classic myth.

1607 Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643) wrote the first opera to become popular, Orfeo, making him the premier opera composer of his day and bridging the gap between Renaissance and Baroque music. His works are still performed today.

BAROQUE

1600-1750

1637 The first public opera house, Teatro San Cassiano, was built in Venice, Italy.

1673 Jean Baptiste Lully (1632-1687) Italian-born composer, brought opera to the French court, creating a unique style, tragédie en musique, that better suited the French language. Blurring the lines between recitative and aria, he created fast-paced dramas to suit the tastes of French aristocrats.

1689 Henry Purcell’s (1659-1695) simple and elegant chamber opera, Dido and Aeneas, premiered at Josias Priest’s boarding school for girls in London.

1712 George Frideric Handel (1685-1759), a German-born composer, moved to London, where he found immense success writing intricate and highly ornamented Italian opera seria (serious opera). Ornamentation refers to stylized, fast-moving notes, usually improvised by the singer to make a musical line more interesting and to showcase their vocal talent.

Dido and Aeneas, 1747, Pompeo Batoni, via Wikimedia Commons

1730-1820

CLASSICAL

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1750s A reform movement, led by composer Christoph Gluck (1714-1787), rejected the flashy ornamented style of the Baroque in favor of simplicity refined to enhance the drama.

1767 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) wrote his first opera at age 11, beginning his 25-year opera career. Mozart mastered, then innovated in several operatic forms. He wrote operas serias, including La Clemenza di Tito, and operas buffas (comedic operas) like Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro).

He then combined the two genres in Don Giovanni, calling it dramma giocoso.

Mozart also innovated on the form of Singspiel (German sung play), featuring spoken dialogue, as in Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute).

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)

1805 Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) although a prolific composer, wrote only one opera, Fidelio. The extremes of musical expression in Beethoven’s music pushed the boundaries in the late Classical period and inspired generations of Romantic composers.

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

1790-1910

Giuseppe Verdi

Giacomo Puccini

Richard Wagner

ROMANTIC — THE GOLDEN AGE OF OPERA 1816 Gioacchino Rossini (1792-1868) composed Il Barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), becoming the most prodigious opera composer in Italy by age 24. He wrote 39 operas in 20 years. This new style created by Rossini and his contemporaries, including Gaetano Donizetti and Vincenzo Bellini, would, a century later, be referred to as bel canto (beautiful singing). Bel canto compositions were inspired by the nuanced vocal capabilities of the human voice and its expressive potential. Composers employed a strategic use of register, the push and pull of tempo (rubato), extremely smooth and connected phrases (legato), and vocal glides (portamento).

1842 Inspired by the risqué popular entertainment of French vaudeville, Hervé created the first operetta, a short comedic musical drama with spoken dialogue. Responding to popular trends, this new form stood in contrast to the increasingly serious and dramatic works at the grand Parisian opera house.

Opéra comique as a genre was often not comic, rather realistic or humanistic.

Grand Opera, on the contrary, was exaggerated and melodramatic.

1853 Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) completed La Traviata, a story of love, loss, and the struggle of average people, in the increasingly popular realistic style of verismo. Verdi enjoyed immense acclaim during his lifetime, while expanding opera to include larger orchestras, extravagant sets and costumes, and more highly trained voices.

A scene from a 19th-century version of the play The Barber of Seville by Pierre Beaumarchais. Its origins in the commedia dell’arte are shown in this picture which portrays Figaro dressed in the costume and mask of Harlequin. 1884, via Wikimedia Commons

1865 Richard Wagner’s (1813-1883) Tristan und Isolde was the beginning of musical modernism, pushing the use of traditional harmony to its extreme.

His massively ambitious, lengthy operas, often based in German folklore, sought to synthesize music, theater, poetry, and visuals in what he called a Gesamtkunstwerk (total work of art). The most famous of these was an epic four-opera drama, Der Ring des Nibelungen, which took him 26 years to write and was completed in 1874.

1871 Influenced by French operetta, English librettist W.S. Gilbert (1836-1911) and composer Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900) began their 25-year partnership, which produced 14 comic operettas including The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado. Their works helped inspire the genre of American musical theater.

1874 Johann Strauss II, influenced largely by his father, with whom he shared a name and talent, composed Die Fledermaus, popularizing Viennese musical traditions, namely the waltz, and shaping operetta.

1896 Giacomo Puccini’s (1858-1924) La Bohème captivated audiences with its intensely beautiful music, realism, and raw emotion. Puccini enjoyed huge acclaim during his lifetime for his works.

Mikado theatre poster, Edinburgh, 1885, via Wikimedia Commons

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Hammerstein and Kern

Leonard Bernstein

Scott Joplin

20TH CENTURY 1911 Scott Joplin, “The King of Ragtime,” wrote his only opera, Treemonisha, which was not performed until 1972. The work combined the European late-Romantic operatic style with African American folk songs, spirituals, and dances. The libretto, also by Joplin, was written at a time when literacy among African Americans in the southern United States was rare.

20TH CENTURY

1922 Alban Berg (1885-1935) composed the first completely atonal opera, Wozzeck, dealing with uncomfortable themes of militarism and social exploitation. Wozzeck is in the style of 12-tone music or Serialism. This new compositional style, developed in Vienna by composer Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951), placed equal importance on each of the 12 pitches in a scale, removing the sense of the music being in a particular key.

1927 American musical theater, commonly referred to as Broadway, was taken more seriously after Jerome Kern’s (1885-1945) Show Boat, words by Oscar Hammerstein, tackled issues of racial segregation and the ban on interracial marriage in Mississippi.

1935 American composer George Gershwin (1898-1937), who was influenced by African American music and culture, debuted his opera, Porgy and Bess, in Boston, MA, with an all-African American cast of classically trained singers.

1945 British composer Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) gained international recognition with his opera Peter Grimes. Britten, along with Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958), was one of the first British opera composers to gain fame in nearly 300 years.

1957 Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990), known for synthesizing musical genres, brought together the best of American musical theater, opera, and ballet in West Side Story—a reimagining of Romeo and Juliet in a contemporary setting.

Porgy and Bess by the New York Harlem Theatre, 2009

1987 John Adams (b. 1947) composed one of the great minimalist operas, Nixon in China, the story of Nixon’s 1972 meeting with Chinese leader Mao Zedong. Musical Minimalism strips music down to its essential elements, usually featuring a great deal of repetition with slight variations.

TODAY Still a vibrant and evolving art form, opera attracts contemporary composers such as Dominick Argento (b. 1927), Philip Glass (b. 1937), Mark-Anthony Turnage (b. 1960), Thomas Adès (b. 1971), and many others. These composers continue to be influenced by present and historical musical forms in creating new operas that explore current issues or reimagine ancient tales.

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So Young Park as Queen of the Night Photo: Eric Antoniou.

THE SCIENCE AND ART OF OPERA WHY DO OPERA SINGERS SOUND LIKE THAT? Opera is unique among forms of singing in that singers are trained to be able to sing without amplification, in large theaters, over an entire orchestra, and still be heard and understood! This is what sets the art form of opera apart from similar forms such as musical theater. To become a professional opera singer, it takes years of intense physical training and constant practice—not unlike that of a ballet dancer—to stay in shape. Additionally, while ballet dancers can dance through pain and illness, poor health, especially respiratory issues and even allergies, can be severely debilitating for a professional opera singer. Let’s peek into some of the science of this art form.

HOW THE VOICE WORKS Singing requires different parts of the body to work together: the lungs, the vocal cords, the vocal tract, and the articulators (lips, teeth, and tongue). The lungs create a flow of air over the vocal cords, which vibrate. That vibration is amplified by the vocal tract and broken up into words by consonants produced by the articulators.

Breath: Any good singer will tell you that good breath support is essential to produce quality sound. Breath is like the gas that goes into your car.

Without it, nothing runs. In order to sing long phrases of music with clarity and volume, opera singers access their full lung capacity by keeping the torso elongated and releasing the lower abdomen and diaphragm muscles, which allows air to enter into the lower lobes of the lungs. This is why we associate a certain posture with opera singers. In the past, many operas were staged with singers standing in one place to deliver an entire aria or scene, with minimal activity. Modern productions, however, often demand a much greater range of movement and agility onstage, requiring performers to be physically fit, and disproving the stereotype of the “fat lady sings.”

Vibration: If you run your fingers along your throat you will feel a little lump just underneath your chin. That is your “Adam’s Apple,” and right behind it, housed in the larynx (voice-box), are your vocal cords. When air from the lungs crosses over the vocal cords it creates an area of low pressure (google The Bernoulli Effect), which brings the cords together and makes them vibrate. This vibration produces a buzz. The vocal chords can be lengthened or shortened by muscles in the larynx, or by increasing the speed of air flow. This change in the length and thickness of the vocal cords is what allows singers to create different pitches. Higher pitches require long, thin cords, while low pitches require short, thick ones. Professional singers take great pains to protect the delicate anatomy of their vocal cords with hydration and rest, as the tiniest scarring or inflammation can have noticeable effects on the quality of sound produced.

Resonance: Without the resonating chambers in the head, the buzzing of the vocal cords would sound very unpleasant. The vocal tract, a term encompassing the mouth cavity, and the back of the throat, down to the larynx, shapes the buzzing of the vocal cords like a sculptor shapes clay. Shape your mouth in an ee vowel (as in eat), then sharply inhale a few times. The cool sensation you feel at the top and back of your mouth is your soft palate. The soft palate can raise or lower to change the shape of the vocal tract. Opera singers always strive to sing with a raised soft palate, which allows for the greatest amplification of the sound produced by the vocal cords. Different vowel sounds are produced by raising or lowering the tongue. Say the vowels: ee, eh, ah, oh, oo and notice how each vowel requires a slightly lower tongue placement. This area of vocal training is particularly difficult because none of the anatomy is visible from the outside!

Articulation: The lips, teeth, and tongue are all used to create consonant sounds, which separate words into syllables and make language intelligible. Consonants must be clear and audible for the singer to be understood.

Because opera singers do not sing with amplification, their articulation must be particularly good. The challenge lies in producing crisp, rapid consonants without interrupting the connection of the vowels (through the controlled exhale of breath) within the musical phrase.

Perfecting every element of this complex singing system requires years of training, and is essential for the demands of the art form. An opera singer must be capable of singing for hours at a time, over the top of an orchestra, in large opera houses, while acting and delivering an artistic interpretation of the music. It is complete and total engagement of mental, physical, and emotional control and expression.

Therefore think of opera singers as the Olympic athletes of the stage, sit back, and marvel at what the human body is capable of!

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Contralto

Somewhat equivalent to the lower female alto role in a chorus, mezzosopranos (mezzo translates as “middle”) are known for their full and expressive qualities. While they don’t sing frequencies quite as high as sopranos, their ranges do overlap, and it is a “darker” tone that sets them apart. One of the most famous mezzo-soprano lead roles is Carmen in Bizet’s Carmen.

Occasionally women have an even lower range that overlaps with the highest male voice. This voice type is rare, and they often play male characters, referred to in opera as trouser roles.

Tenor

The highest male voice; tenors often sing the role of the hero.

One of the most famous tenor roles is Roméo in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliet. Occasionally men have cultivated very high voices singing in a range similar to a mezzo-soprano, but using their falsetto. Called the Countertenor, this voice type is often found in Baroque music. Countertenors replaced castrati in the heroic lead roles of Baroque opera after the practice of castration was deemed unethical.

A middle-range male voice, baritones can range from sweet and mild in tone, to darker dramatic and full tones.

A famous baritone role is Rigoletto in Verdi’s Rigoletto.

Baritones who are most comfortable in a slightly lower range are known as Bass-Baritones, a hybrid of the two lowest voice types.

Baritone Bass

Mezzo-Soprano

Opera singers are cast into roles based on their tessitura (the range of notes they can sing comfortably). There are many descriptors that accompany the basic voice types, but here are some of the most common ones:

The lowest male voice, basses often fall into two main categories: basso buffo, which is a comic character who often sings in lower laughing-like tones, and basso profundo, which is as low as the human voice can sing!

Doctor Bartolo is an example of a bass role in The Barber of Seville by Rossini.

Bass

C

The highest female voice; some sopranos are designated as coloratura as they specialize in being able to sing very fast moving notes that are very high in frequency and light in tone, often referred to as “color notes.”

One of the most famous coloratura roles is The Queen of the Night in Mozart’s The Magic Flute.

Soprano

DIFFERENT VOICE TYPES

D

Baritone

E

F

G

A

Tenor Contralto

B

110 HZ

C

D

E

Mezzo-Soprano

F

G

A

Soprano

B

C

220 HZ

D

E

F

G

A

B

C

440 HZ

D

E

F

G

A

B

C

D

880 HZ

Each of the voice types (soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor, baritone, bass) also tends to be sub-characterized by whether it is more Lyric or Dramatic in tone. Lyric singers tend toward smooth lines in their music, sensitively expressed interpretation, and flexible agility. Dramatic singers have qualities that are attributed to darker, fuller, richer note qualities expressed powerfully and robustly with strong emotion. While its easiest to understand operatic voice types through these designations and descriptions, one of the most exciting things about listening to a singer perform is that each individual’s voice is essentially unique, thus each singer will interpret a role in an opera in a different way.

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E

F

THE PHYSICS OF OPERA SINGERS What is it about opera singers that allows them to be heard above the orchestra? It’s not that they simply sing louder. The qualities of sound have to do with the relationship between the frequency (pitch) of a sound, represented in a unit of measurement called hertz, and its amplitude, measured in decibels, which the ear perceives as loudness. Only artificially produced sounds, however, create a pure frequency and amplitude (these are the only kind that can break glass). The sound produced by a violin, a drum, a voice, or even smacking your hand on a table, produces a fundamental frequency as well as secondary, tertiary, etc. frequencies known as overtones, or as musicians call them, harmonics.

For instance, the orchestra tunes to a concert “A” pitch before a performance. Concert “A” has a frequency of about 440 hertz, but that is not the only pitch you will hear. Progressively softer pitches above that fundamental pitch are produced in multiples of 440 at 880hz, 1320hz, 1760hz, etc. Each different instrument in the orchestra, because of its shape, construction, and mode in which it produces sound, produces different harmonics. This is what makes a violin, for example, have a different color (or timbre) from a trumpet. Generally, the harmonics of the instruments in the orchestra fade around 2500hz.

Overtones produced by a human voice—whether speaking, yelling, or singing—are referred to as formants.

As the demands of opera stars increased, vocal teachers discovered that by manipulating the empty space within the vocal tract, they could emphasize higher frequencies within the overtone series—frequencies above 2500 hz. This technique allowed singers to perform without hurting their vocal chords, as they are not actually singing at a higher fundamental decibel level than the orchestra. Swedish voice scientist, Johann Sundberg, observed this phenomenon when he recorded the world-famous tenor Jussi Bjoerling in 1970. His research showed multiple peaks in decibel level, with the strongest frequency (overtone) falling between 2500 and 3000 hertz. This frequency, known as the singer’s formant, is the “sweet spot” for singers so that we hear their voices soaring over the orchestra into the opera house night after night.

Listen Up!

Prof. Tecumseh Fitch, evolutionary biologist and cognitive scientist at the University of Vienna, explains the difference between a fundamental frequency and formant frequency in the human voice. For an opera singer, the lower two formants (peaks on a graph) determine the specific vowel sound. The third formant and above add overtones that are specific to each particular singer’s voice, like a fingerprint. When two people sing the same note simultaneously, the high overtones allow your ear to distinguish two voices.

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Boston Opera House

A RESONANT PLACE The final piece of the puzzle in creating the perfect operatic sound is the opera house or theater itself. Designing the perfect acoustic space can be an almost impossible task, one which requires tremendous knowledge of science, engineering, and architecture, as well as an artistic sensibility. The goal of the acoustician is to make sure that everyone in the audience can clearly understand the music being produced onstage, no matter where they are sitting. A perfectly designed opera house or concert hall (for non-amplified sound) functions almost like gigantic musical instrument.

Reverberation is one key aspect in making a singer’s words intelligible or an orchestra’s melodies clear. Imagine the sound your voice would make in the shower or a cave. The echo you hear is reverberation caused by the large, hard, smooth surfaces. Too much reverberation (bouncing sound waves) can make words difficult to understand. Resonant vowel sounds overlap as they bounce off of hard surfaces and cover up quieter consonant sounds. In these environments, sound carries a long way but becomes unclear or, as it is sometimes called, wet–as if the sound were underwater. Acousticians can mitigate these effects by covering smooth surfaces with textured materials like fabric, perforated metal, or diffusers, which absorb and disperse sound. These tools, however, must be used carefully, as too much absorption can make a space dry–meaning the sound onstage will not carry at all and the performers may have trouble even hearing themselves. Imagine singing into a pillow or under a blanket.

The shape of the room itself also contributes to the way the audience perceives the music. Most large performance spaces are shaped like a bell–small where the stage is, and growing larger and more spread out in every dimension as one moves farther away.

This shape helps to create a clear path for the sound to reach every seat. In designing concert halls or opera houses, big decisions must be made about the construction of the building based on acoustical needs. Even with the best planning, the perfect acoustic is not guaranteed, but professionals are constantly learning and adapting new scientific knowledge to enhance the audience’s experience.

Boston Symphony Hall, opened in 1900, with acoustical design by Harvard physicist Wallace Clement Sabine, was the first concert hall to be designed with scientific acoustic principles in mind. Each seat was mathematically designed and placed for maximum acoustical perfection.

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TOSCA SYNOPSIS

Basilica of Sant’Andrea della Valle, Rome, Italy

Operatic Thriller!

The entire action of this story takes place in less than 24 hours!

ACT I The Church of Sant’Andrea della Valle – late morning Ceasar Angelotti, a notorious political revolutionary, has escaped from prison and hides in Sant’Andrea della Valle, a large church in Rome, finding a secluded spot in the private Attavanti chapel. He hears the Sacristan and the painter Mario Cavaradossi. Cavaradossi resumes work on his commission, a painting of Mary Magdalene whose face was inspired by Angelotti’s sister the Marchesa Attavanti.

Cavaradossi has never met the beautiful blonde, but knows of her and the Sacristan mentions she often comes to church. When the Sacristan leaves, Angelotti emerges from his hiding place. Cavaradossi recognizes him and offers to help him escape. Angelotti conceals himself again just as Floria Tosca comes looking for Cavaradossi to remind him of their date later that day. She gets a glimpse of the painting he is working on and suddenly explodes with jealousy when she recognizes the face Cavaradossi is painting and accuses him of having an affair. He distracts and cajoles her, reassuring her that his love is true and faithful.

Tosca leaves and Angelotti remerges to discuss with Cavaradossi his plan for escape. Angelotti explains that his sister has left some women’s clothing for him to disguise himself in, and Cavaradossi tells Angelotti to hide in the well on his property. Just then, the men hear a cannon explode signaling that a prisoner has escaped. They know the police will soon be searching for him so Cavaradossi and Angelotti flee to the painter’s house.

The Sacristan enters the sanctuary to prepare the choirboys to celebrate the impending defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Marengo, but they are interrupted by the chief of police, Baron Scarpia, as he searches for Angelotti. Scarpia discovers a fan in the chapel, bearing the Attavanti coat-of-arms, and he is convinced that Angelotti was hiding there. Tosca returns looking for Cavaradossi, and Scarpia questions her, showing her the fan and insinuating that Cavaradossi has a secret lover. Tosca is now absolutely convinced of her boyfriend’s infidelity and does not hide her rage. Sensing Tosca’s vulnerability, and already suspicious of Cavaradossi‘s revolutionary leanings, Scarpia sees her opportunity to help him find his fugitive, get rid of Cavaradossi, and have Tosca for himself. He orders his officers to follow her as she rushes to find her lover.

ACT II Scarpia’s Quarters in the Palazzo Farnese—evening Scarpia is enjoying a meal when he hears Tosca singing in another part of the palace. He summons her to join him. Spoletta arrives with news that they have not found Angelotti, but did arrest Cavaradossi and are currently interrogating him. Scarpia orders his men to torture Cavaradossi until he confesses. Tosca crosses paths with the captive Cavaradossi as she arrives to meet with Scarpia. He warns her not to give any information away to the police. Resolved with strength, Tosca resists Scarpia’s cajoling and licentious flirtation in an attempt to get information out of her. Cavaradossi cries in pain as he is tortured, and Scarpia promises that he will release him if Tosca gives him the information he seeks. She finally relents and confesses Angelotti’s hiding place. Scarpia orders Cavaradossi to be brought in and he collapses, badly beaten, bloody, and barely conscious. Yet when he discovers Tosca’s betrayal, he’s furious. Spoletta bursts in with news that the Battle of Marengo has turned and Napoleon has indeed won. At the news Cavaradossi rejoices, pledging loyalty to the revolution, which angers Scarpia. He orders his execution.

Devastated, Tosca begs Scarpia not to kill Cavaradossi. Scarpia agrees, but only if Tosca gives herself to him. She fights off his increasingly aggressive advances and declares her loyalty to her love. Spoletta arrives to update Scarpia that faced with capture, Angelotti has killed himself, and the executioner is ready. Horrified, Tosca agrees to Scarpia’s proposal. Scarpia, eager to have Tosca, orders Spoletta to conduct a fake execution of Cavaradossi and let him go afterward. Tosca demands Scarpia promise a safe escape for them both. Just as Scarpia relaxes to claim Tosca, she kills him.

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ACT III The Ramparts of the Castel Sant’Angelo—just before dawn Cavaradossi awaits his execution and, refusing a priest, requests to write a letter to Tosca remembering the joy she brought to him and the love they had for each other. Tosca surprises him and explains about Scarpia’s death, the plans for a fake execution, and his written promise of safe escape. They plan their life together and Cavaradossi prepares for his dramatic fake death. As Tosca watches the execution from afar, her excitement grows knowing they will run away and begin a new life together. After the execution, she discovers that it was actually real, and her beloved is dead. In grief and anguish, she hears the voice of Spoletta shouting that Scarpa’s body has been found and it was Tosca who killed him. Just as the police rush in to capture Tosca, she turns and takes her own life.

CHARACTERS

Cesare Angelotti, bass revolutionary fugitive and enemy of the Church; a friend of Cavaradossi The Sacristan, baritone elderly caretaker of the church of Sant’ Andrea della Valle Mario Cavaradossi, tenor from a Roman aristocratic family, yet an artist and a closet revolutionary Floria Tosca, soprano a celebrated young opera singer and Cavaradossi’s girlfriend Baron Scarpia, baritone crooked and licentious chief of police

The Castel Sant'Angelo, (right), scene of the Tosca denouement, as painted in the 18th century. By Giuseppe Zocchi

Spoletta, tenor a police agent and Scarpia’s assistant

The Battle of Marengo, as painted by Louis-François Lejeune (1802)

The Battle of Marengo is the dramatic backdrop of the 18-hour action taking place in Tosca. The battle was fought between Napoleon’s French troops and the Austrian Empire in the Italian Alps in a region known as the Piedmont. As alluded to in the opera, the Austrians launched a surprise attack on the French troops leading the word to spread that the French were withdrawing, yet the tide of the battle turned late in the day with the French trouncing the Austrians and securing a political victory upon the Austrian retreat. This victory signaled the French Republic’s gain of territory in Italy resulting in the French rule of several regions including Rome for the next 14 years.

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A FRENCH PLAY SET IN ROME

The origins of the melodramatic story of Tosca begin with French playwright Victorien Sardou. The play was written in the latter part of Sardou’s career, after he’d established himself as a successful playwright in Paris. Sardou wrote the title role for Sarah Bernhardt— the biggest celebrity actress in France, and arguably in all of the Western world at the time. Despite scandalously negative reviews at its premiere in 1887, La Tosca soon became one of Sardou’s most successful works and was adapted several times including into Japanese theater, English burlesque, several film versions, and of course, opera.

Art Nouveau style theater poster by Alphonse Muncha for Sardou’s play, La Tosca, featuring Sarah Bernhardt. (1899)

Although the main characters are fictional, many are based on or modeled after real people, all of the locations for the story are real, and a few of the minor characters in the play were actual historical personages. The dramatic action was set during the tumultuous backdrop of the French Revolutionary Wars. These wars, fought between 1792 and 1802, were a result of the French Revolution—the overthrowing of the French monarchy and the rise of a republican (think: social republic) government initially led by dictator Napoleon Bonaparte. During the French Revolutionary Wars, the French army was pitted against other European monarchies in a fight for land and a spread of revolutionary ideals of society and government. Several territories were disputed and conquered, including parts of what are now the Netherlands, the Louisiana Territory in the “New World” (the United States), and what we know as Italy (before it was a united country). For much of history, the country of Italy was divided into distinct regions, or city-states, and ruled by various monarchs either locally, or as territories of larger empires. Often sought after and fought over land, the French Revolutionary Wars in Italy lead to the spread of republican ideals, Napoleon’s ultimate triumph and temporary rule, and the beginning of Italy’s unification as a country.

Sardou set La Tosca during this exciting time of battles and upheaval with clashing ideologies and personal allegiances to the Pope, the King, or Napoleon. Sardou was known for his political satires and graphically depicting war, as well as the interpersonal domestic dramas exploring love, jealousy, and power. La Tosca brought both of these together to create a highly dramatic action.

He did not shy away from tension-fueled violent exposition in his wordy five-act play. Due in large part to actress Sarah Bernhardt’s fame, La Tosca was immensely popular, sparking fashion trends from her costumes and compelling theater critics to warn audiences of the play's shocking and offensively graphic nature, while simultaneously hinting it was perfect for adaptation to opera.

Sarah Bernhardt is known as one of the most famous actresses of all time. Her off-stage life is just as storied as her on-stage personas.

She was born and raised in Paris, an illegitimate daughter of a Dutch courtesan. A highly dramatic child, she came from very little means, but always had benefactors to support her education and career.

She became a wildly popular stage actress and was among the first to transition to the silver screen.

A 19th century post card featuring actress Sarah Bernhardt

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TOSCA THE OPERA

Giacomo Puccini was born into a very well established local family of musicians in the Tuscany region. His great-great grandfather was the music director at the local cathedral—a post passed down from father to son. It was therefore expected that young Giacomo study music and one day take over his father’s position, yet his father passed away when he was only six. While Puccini showed early interest and a talent for music, he was a terrible student and had trouble concentrating on anything that didn’t hold his interest, preferring instead to play pranks and flirt with girls. He was sent to study at the Milan Conservatory where he began his career in composition. He remained very close to his mother, corresponding and visiting her frequently until her death. As a teenager, Puccini saw Verdi’s opera Aida, and later Bizet’s Carmen— two operas attributed to influencing his own operatic style.

Luigi Illica

Giuseppe Giacosa, early 1900s

By the time Puccini saw Sardou’s play La Tosca, and decided to adapt it into an opera, he was already an established opera composer with four major operas under his belt. He’d become picky about which librettists he collaborated with after some initial poor criticism with his first two operas. He finally settled on working with Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa (with whom he ended up collaborating on four operas, all told). Sardou was dubious of Puccini since he was Italian, not French, and worried he might not do the play justice. Puccini’s publisher was successful at obtaining the rights from Sardou to adapt his play. His librettists then attempted to dissuade Puccini from adapting it to an opera, citing it was not possible due to the lengthy exposition and excessive wordiness of the manuscript. So Puccini abandoned the project for a while (completing La Bohème instead) and his publisher, Giulio Ricordi, made Illica continue to work on Tosca with a different composer. Puccini soon renewed his interest, took the project back, and traveled to Rome to meticulously research so that the historical places, sounds, music, dialect, and local culture could be accurately reflected in his composition. He even made the sacristan ring the bells at Castel Sant’Angelo so he could get the pitches correct!

Due to the great care with which Sardou took in describing historical detail and alluding to cultural specificity in La Tosca, as well as the notoriety of Sarah Bernhardt, great care was taken by Giacomo Puccini and his librettists to preserve as many elements as possible.

Although the words of the play were drastically cut down to accommodate the adaptation to opera, other details like the costumes were meticulously copied from the play, with Tosca dressed in an empire wasted dress style, a large brimmed hat, a long walking stick, and an arm-full of fresh flowers. The acclaim of Sardou’s play, his involvement in Puccini’s adaptation process, the historical precision, and Sarah Berhardt’s fame—all these contributed to creating a strong tradition for performing Tosca to very precise specifications at its opening and for decades beyond. (Perhaps this is the making of some of the stereotypes of opera!) It was not until recently that opera companies have become more adventurous in remounting the work with creative and contemporary staging and scenic interpretations.

Soprano Hariclea Darclée premiered the role of Tosca, in 1900, which Puccini wrote specifically for her voice.

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DISCUSS: If you are retelling an old story—like Shakespeare for instance—how do you determine the balance between honoring tradition and history, and making sure today’s audiences can connect to it?

REALISM, VERISMO, AND LA VIE QUOTIDIENNE

Along with the French Revolution came much social and cultural upheaval. Artists of all disciplines were rejecting the Romanticism that came before. Certainly this more “true” or real portrayal in the arts varied slightly from disciplines and countries, but broadly artists sought to depict authentic images, emotions, and stories. In addition, emphasis was now put on quotidian or “every day” people, stories, and struggles.

Far from portrayals of royalty, aristocracy, or even the supernatural, artists—painters, writers, and composers alike—wanted to explore the human story.

Giacomo Puccini, 1908

In music, and opera specifically, this style is known as verismo. While Giuseppe Verdi’s later work including La Traviata (1853), can be considered the beginnings of verismo opera, Cavalleria rusticana by Pietro Mascagni (which premiered in 1890), is now considered to be the first true verismo opera. Stylistically, composers wrote music that served the emotional drama of the story, abandoning the formulaic Italian structure of distinct arias set apart by recitative and punctuated by applause, favoring instead a through-composed work that flowed with the dramatic tension in the story. Puccini is considered the most prominent verismo composer, although there were many others, some of whose operas are still often performed today.

Some musicologists call Puccini’s Tosca (1900) his first true foray into the verismo style. Many argue that perhaps the opera before this one, La Bohème (1896), was actually his first verismo opera, and yet perhaps what defines Tosca from La Bohème is more precisely that in Tosca, Puccini begins to define his own orchestral voice within the style. If La Bohème reflects Verdi’s influence on Puccini, then it is through Tosca that he pushes himself further.

Puccini’s life and work bridged the 19th and 20th centuries. Musically he was influenced by what we now know as the Romantic Era and is certainly included among the great composers who are attributed to The Golden Age of Opera.

And yet, he lived on the edge of one age and the next. Puccini revered great composers like Verdi and Wagner, and was also fascinated by how music was being influenced by other cultures and new technologies. He participated in the latest recording technology, composing music that was just the right length to fit on wax cylinders (what came before vinyl records). He watched as the medium of film was born and exploded into culture, first silent, then with sound, but always with musical accompaniment.

The year Tosca premiered was the same year of the World’s Fair in Paris. While La Bohème and Tosca were musical masterpieces, Puccini’s later operas including Madama Butterfly (1904), La Fanciulla del West (1910), and Turandot (1926) explored characters and themes from cultures and countries very different from his own. While today many consider these operas to be cultural appropriation (and rightly so), we can also see that Puccini was telling human stories—ones that showed the audiences of his day the emotional complexity we all share and the ability of music to bridge some of our differences.

1900 World’s Fair in Paris

DISCUSS: Is it ever ok to appropriate someone else’s culture for an artistic interpretation? If so, in what context? What is the difference between being inspired by another culture that is not your own and borrowing or imitating it?

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16

1920

2012 Maria Callas

Olga Didur Wiktor

Anna Medek

1900

1987

Zinka Milanov

TOSCAS THROUGHOUT TIME

Eva Marton

Angela Gheorghiu

1887 1910

1930

1942

1950s

Emmy Destinn

Hariclea DarclĂŠe

Sarah Bernhardt

Stylized drawing from 1899 showing Tosca standing over Scarpia’s body, about to lay a crucifix on his chest

TOSCA: HEROINE OR VICTIM?

Flung into a world of revolutionary conviction and maddening corruption, horrifying violence and passionate devotion, the title character of Tosca finds herself ensnared in a tightening web of tragic events. In Sardou’s play, the character of Tosca is equipped with a substantial backstory. Born to modest circumstances as a goatherd, she spent her teenage years in a convent, where her extraordinary voice was discovered, catalyzing her rise to fame. In contrast, Puccini’s Tosca is more of an unknown quantity. She appears onstage in Act I of the opera in the prime of her life, a gloriously successful singer and a woman in love. Audiences learn nothing of her past, of what she was like before this fateful day. What they do learn is that that she does not fit easily into any single archetype, but rather seems to evoke several. At various moments throughout the opera, she embodies the innocent victim and the jealous lover and the transcendent artist and the angry murderess and the pious believer—all of which converge to make her a multifaceted, potentially ambiguous character.

The men in Tosca’s life do not necessarily comprehend the fullness of her character.

Cavaradossi’s words reflect his love for Tosca and Scarpia’s are a threat, but there is a revealing similarity in the way that they both imagine her as a specimen of female beauty and an object of their desire.

Yet Tosca herself resists this sort of oversimplification. As her terrible predicament intensifies, she wrestles with difficult choices, racing the clock and trying desperately to save her beloved Mario. Even as she faces immense personal danger, though, she BLO’s Production imagines the world beyond her immediate circumstances and makes clear that she is Boston Lyric Opera is honoring many a person of depth and substance. traditions of producing this opera so that it is true to the period. This choice The contrast between how men perceive Tosca and how she perceives herself is due in large part to the portrayal of raises more expansive questions about how women are portrayed in opera writ Tosca herself. If Tosca were updated large. Because the art form historically has been dominated by male composers, to a more contemporary time, our female operatic characters are typically the products of men’s imaginations. Yet understanding and interpretation of it’s undeniably true that women, as performers, are essential to opera; it relies on the title character would be vastly their voices, their bodies, the power of their presence. Indeed, it is no exaggeration different. In the early 1800s, a woman to say that without women, opera could not exist. So a paradox emerges: while living on her own, during a time of male composers dictate the representation of women in opera, female performers political and cultural upheaval, and bring their own interpretations and artistic decisions to those characters as they are earning her own living, as well as presented onstage. dictating her own romantic life would have been virtually unheard of, and Tosca brings these issues to the fore in especially dramatic fashion. After all, Floria thus makes a very powerful statement.

Tosca herself is none other than an opera singer, ideally suited to represent the All of these elements become quickly many facets of being a woman on the operatic stage. Moreover, the complexities nuanced, diluted, and even irrelevant of her character mean that the singer playing the role enjoys a great deal of latitude as we move forward through to in choosing how to portray her. It is no wonder, then, that singers often call Tosca a present day. This particular story favorite role—not only because of the lushness and beauty of Puccini’s music, but speaks the loudest in the context of also for the sense of identification they feel with the character, both as an artist and the time period in which it was set. as a woman. Tosca is, ultimately, rich with possibility: she is flawed, vulnerable, heroic, strong, ambiguous, impetuous, defiant, talented, reviled, and admired. In short, she is human. -by Lucy Caplan, Ph.D. candidate Yale University DISCUSS: Is Tosca a victim of her circumstances, or a hero in spite of them? Is she strong or vulnerable?

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OH, THE DRAMA!

Yes, opera holds a long-standing stereotype of heightened drama brought to the extreme where everyone dies at the end (and sings on their deathbed). Wait a minute! Isn’t this just an attribute of good storytelling? Think about the Mission Impossible Rogue Nation, 2015 stories (not just in opera) that have withstood the test of time that we tell and retell and update over and over again. (Shakespeare anyone?) Most often operas are actually adaptations of previously written works. And this is still true today! What is the most recent drama you consumed? Game of Thrones? The Handmaid’s Tale? These are based on novels and brought to life on screen. Authors, playwrights, storytellers alike heighten the stakes, add shock value, twists, and surprises in order to draw audiences in and keep our attention.

But what is it about opera that makes us think Drama-with-a-capital-D? Imagine watching Star Wars or Lord of the Rings on mute with closed captions. It may not completely captivate you in quite the same way although you could follow the story perfectly fine. This is what opera does best—tells the story, the emotion, and the drama through music. The orchestra Why do We Call Opera Singers Divas? The etymology of score in addition to the melodic lines of the singers are the word dates back to early Latin, meaning female goddess and critical to drawing us in to the world of the story and one who is deified after death. It entered the English language making us care about the characters. We can feel how in the late 19th century. However it was in fact the character of the main character feels, we know when something is Tosca that brought the term to the opera world, when playwright about to happen even if the characters don’t, and we Sardou used it in his play to describe the celebrated singer. (And exhale when the music resolves knowing things have if Sardou coined the association, it was Sarah Bernhardt who come to an end—for better or worse. brought it to fame!) When Puccini turned the play into an opera, So why do we still love an opera that was written well the association between the character of Tosca, the vocally and over 100 years ago? It turns out that Puccini, with emotionally dramatic role, and the term diva stuck. And since the his verismo style of composition, was pretty good at role of Tosca is the leading lady, the term prima donna became creating a heightened emotional landscape of sound. closely associated with diva when referring to a female opera He was meticulous at conveying authentic human star. Then, it was these prima donnas who made Tosca a timeless emotion through his music, emotions that still pull at our opera we still produce today. What qualifies someone as a diva? heartstrings or make our heart stop. In fact, the cinematic Opera News has a few thoughts. qualities to Puccini’s scores have led to several selections of his operas used in film. A selection from Tosca was used in the James Bond film Quantum of Solace (2008), and many of Puccini’s other opera scores can be found in famous films including Room with a View (1985), Fatal Attraction (1987), Moonstruck (1987), Bend It Like Beckham (2002), and Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015).

So yes, opera is dramatic, but why does that reputation need to be so eye-roll-inducing? Admit it, you love good drama. We all love good drama, especially when we are completely pulled in through masterful musical storytelling. So the next time you come to the opera, or go to a movie theater, or stream Netflix, notice what is it about the drama that keeps you watching, pulls you in, and gives you cathartic release when it ends. It just might have a little something to do with the music.

DISCUSS: What are the different ways that music helps to tell a story today in tv shows, film, music videos, even live performances?

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LISTEN UP! Tosca is a through-composed work, meaning it has little distinction between arias and little recitative. The effect is more cinematic to our ear. Different from many operas that preceded it, Tosca does not begin with an overture or even a prelude, but jumps right in with Scarpia’s motif as foreshadowing and then quickly changes to a more frantic motif for our fugitive as he enters:

Listen Up!

Carvaradossi, the tenor, has his most famous aria little more than five minutes into the opera. In “Recondita armonia” he compares the painting of Mary Magdalene that his is working on with her fair hair and blue eyes to the dark hair and eyes of his love, Tosca:

Listen Up!

When Tosca enters, she is immediately jealous of the woman her lover is painting. Caravadossi, seems fairly unfazed by this initial passionate burst and redirects it into a placating, then tender love duet:

Listen Up!

In the final scene of Act I, when Scarpia confronts Tosca (the first time), Puccini twists sacred church music motifs with Scarpia’s evil motives as the chorus sings the “Te Deum:”

Listen Up!

Perhaps the most famous aria Tosca sings is in Act II. “Vissi d’arte” is her declaration of love, her passion for singing, and her piety, in an imploring prayer-like plea:

Listen Up!

At the beginning of Act III, Cavaradossi contemplates his condemnation in jail in the early morning hours in “E lucevan le stelle.” It is an anguished lament:

Listen Up!

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Many of the motifs of the different characters are woven throughout the score and revisited at different times by different instruments to lend specific mood, foreshadowing, or referenced to. New York Times music critic Anthony Tommasini explains: Listen Up!

GENERAL QUESTIONS TO GUIDE YOUR LISTENING • What instruments are playing?

• How fast is the music? Are there sudden changes in speed? Is the rhythm steady or unsteady?

• Key/Mode: Is it major or minor? (Does it sound bright, happy, sad, urgent, dangerous?)

• Dynamics/Volume: Is the music loud or soft? Are there sudden changes in volume (either in the voice or orchestra)?

• What is the shape of the melodic line? Does the voice move smoothly or does it make frequent or erratic jumps? Do the vocal lines move noticeably downward or upward?

• Does the type of voice singing (baritone, soprano, tenor, mezzo, etc.) have an effect on you as a listener?

• Do the melodies end as you would expect or do they surprise you?

• How does the music make you feel? What effect do the above factors have on you as a listener?

• What is the orchestra doing in contrast to the voice? How do they interact?

• What kinds of images, settings, or emotions come to mind? Does it remind you of anything you have experienced in your own life?

• Do particularly emphatic notes (low, high, held, etc.) correspond to dramatic moments?

• What type of character fits this music? Romantic? Comic? Serious? Etc.

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RESOURCES Note: There is much scholarship about Puccini and many, many publications. Visit your local library, or do a quick Google search to learn more. Here are a few used in support of the Study Guide.

OTHER OPERA STUDY GUIDES

Canadian Opera Company

Nashville Opera

Manitoba Opera

Opera Company of Philadelphia

The Metropolitan Opera

Pacific Opera Victoria

The Metropolitan Opera Guild

Toledo Opera

Minnesota Opera BOOKS & MAGAZINE ARTICLES

Dillon, P. (2012, November). Diva by Definition. Opera News, 77(5). Retrieved September 14, 2017, from https://www.operanews. com/Opera_News_Magazine/2012/11/Features/Diva_by_Definition.html Hart, J. A. (1913). Sardou and the Sardou Plays. Retrieved September 14, 2017, from https://books.google.com/ books?id=P8dIAAAAIAAJ&dq=Sardou%27s plays&source=gbs_navlinks_s Nicassio , S. V. (2002). Tosca’s Rome: The Play and the Opera in Historical Perspective (2nd ed.). Chicago, IL: University Of Chicago Press.

WEBSITES

Collins, C. (2015, May 4). 3 Opera Divas Who Made ‘Tosca’ One of the Most Popular Operas Today. Retrieved September 14, 2017, from http://www.cmuse.org/opera-divas-who-made-tosca-popular/ Tosca. (n.d.). Retrieved September 14, 2017, from http://www.theopera101.com/operas/tosca/ Opera de Montréal. (2017, September 12).

Green, A. (2017, August 9). Learn the Synopsis of Puccini’s Opera, Tosca. Retrieved September 14, 2017, from https://www. thoughtco.com/tosca-synopsis-724318 Nicassio, S. V. (2000). Ten Things You Didn’t Know about Tosca. Retrieved September 14, 2017, from http://press.uchicago.edu/ Misc/Chicago/579719.html Smith, I. H. (2016, February 09). Puccini and the Cinema. Retrieved September 14, 2017, from https://www.gramophone.co.uk/ feature/puccini-and-the-cinema Opera Lively. (2012, August 15). Tosca: The Characters and their voices. Retrieved September 14, 2017, from http://operalively. com/forums/content.php/614-Tosca-The-Characters-and-their-voices RECORDINGS

Espert, N. (Director). (2004). Tosca [Motion picture on DVD]. Spain: Waldron, Heathfield, East Sussex : Opus Arte.

Puccini, G.: Tosca (Price, Corelli, MacNeil, Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra, Adler) [CD]. (2011). The Metropolitan Opera: Sony Masterworks. (1962) Tosca [CD]. (2001). Royal Opera House, London: EMI Classics. (2000) 21

NOTES TO PREPARE FOR THE OPERA You will see a full dress rehearsal–an insider’s look into the final moments of preparation before an opera premieres. The singers will be in full costume and makeup, the opera will be fully staged, and a full orchestra will accompany the singers, who may choose to “mark,” or not sing in full voice, in order to save their voices for the performances. A final dress rehearsal is often a complete run-through, but there is a chance the director or conductor will ask to repeat a scene or section of music. This is the last opportunity the performers have to rehearse with the orchestra before opening night, and they therefore need this valuable time to work. The following will help you better enjoy your experience of a night at the opera: • Arrive on time! Latecomers will be seated only at suitable breaks in the performance and often not until intermission.

• Dress in what you are comfortable in so that you may enjoy the performance. For some, that means dressing up in a suit or gown, for others, jeans and a polo shirt fit the bill. Generally “dressy-casual” is what people wear. Live theater is usually a little more formal than a movie theater. Please do not take off your shoes or put your feet on the seat in front of you.

• Respect your fellow opera lovers by not leaning forward in your seat so as to block the person’s view behind you, and by turning off (not on vibrate) cell phones and other electronic devices that could make noise during the performance. Lit screens are also very distracting to your neighbors, so please keep your phone out of sight until the house lights come up.

• Taking photos or making audio or video recordings is strictly forbidden.

• Do not chew gum, eat, drink, or talk while the rehearsal is in session. If you must visit the restroom during the performance, please exit quickly and quietly.

• At the very beginning of the opera, the concertmaster of the orchestra will ask the oboist to play the note “A.” You will hear all the other musicians in the orchestra tune their instruments to match the oboe’s “A.” • After all the instruments are tuned, the conductor will arrive. Be sure to applaud!

• Feel free to applaud or shout Bravo! at the end of an aria or chorus piece if you liked it. The end of a piece can be identified by a pause in the music. Singers love an appreciative audience!

• It’s OK to laugh when something is funny!

• When translating songs and poetry in particular, much can be lost due to a change in rhythm, inflection and rhyme of words.

For this reason, opera is usually performed in its original language. In order to help audiences enjoy the music and follow every twist and turn of the plot, English supertitles are projected.

• Sit back, relax and let the action on stage pull you in. As an audience member, you are essential to the art form of opera—without you, there is no show!

HAVE FUN AND ENJOY THE OPERA!

Boston Opera House

• Listen for subtleties in the music. The tempo, volume, and complexity of the music and singing depict the feelings or actions of the characters. Also, notice repeated words or phrases; they are usually significant.