Tosca Studyguidev3
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By Giacomo Puccini A GUIDE TO THE STUDENT DRESS REHEARSAL SYNOPSIS Act I - In the church of Sant’Andrea della Valle, 1800 the voice of Floria Tosca, Cavaradossi’s lover. Angelotti returns to his hiding spot. Tosca is furious because she heard voices and is convinced that Cavaradossi is cheat- ing on her! Cavaradossi convinces Tosca that he was alone and promises to see her after her opera perform- ance that evening. Tosca leaves and Angelotti comes out of his hiding place. When a cannon is fired, Angelotti and Cavaradossi realize that the police are looking for Angelotti. Cavaradossi suggests that Angelotti hide in the well on his property and the two quickly flee to Cavaradossi’s villa. Baron Scarpia enters the church in Watercolor sketch of The Church of Sant'Andrea della Valle pursuit of Angelotti and deduces that Cavaradossi is from Act I. Painted by Adolfo Hohenstein for the helping the escaped prisoner. Scarpia premiere of Tosca. finds a fan embroidered with the crest of Cesare Angelotti, an escaped political Characters the Marchesa Attavanti. Tosca returns prisoner, dashes into the Church of and Scarpia uses the fan as evidence to Floria Tosca – (soprano) Sant’Andrea della Valle to hide in the convince Tosca of Cavaradossi’s unfaith- A famous Roman singer who is in Attavanti family chapel. At the sound of fulness. Tosca tearfully vows revenge and love with Mario Cavaradossi. the Angelus (a bell that signals a time exits the chapel. As the act closes, Scarpia for late-morning prayer in the Roman Mario Cavaradossi – (tenor) sings of the great pleasure he will have Catholic church), the Sacristan enters to A painter with revolutionary when he destroys Cavaradossi and has pray. He is interrupted by Mario sentiments. Tosca for himself. Cavaradossi, a painter who has been Baron Scarpia – (baritone) Act II – Scarpia’s apartment in the commissioned to paint a portrait of The power hungry chief of police Palazzo Farnese Mary Magdalene in the chapel. The who is in love with Tosca. He is portrait bears a strong resemblance to Scarpia eats dinner and waits for the spy trying to capture Cesare Angelotti. the Marchesa Attavanti, who frequently Spoletta to report back on whether or comes to the chapel to pray for her Cesare Angelotti - (bass) not Tosca has led them to Cavaradossi or brother. The Sacristan leaves and An escaped prisoner who shares Angelotti. Scarpia muses to himself how Angelotti emerges from his hiding spot Cavaradossi’s revolutionary he will use Tosca for his own political to embrace his friend, Cavaradossi. sentiments. gain and then toss her aside. Spoletta Angelotti explains that he has just enters with Cavaradossi, who has been Spoletta – (tenor) escaped from the Castel Sant’Angelo, brought in for questioning. Scarpia One of the policemen who works where he was imprisoned by orders of begins his interrogation of Cavaradossi, for Scarpia. Baron Scarpia. They are interrupted by while Tosca is heard singing in the next continued on page 2 2 SYNOPSIS, continued from page 1 and just as Scarpia is about to embrace her, she stabs him to death through the heart. Before she leaves, she places candles on the floor around his corpse and a crucifix on his chest. Act III – Castel Sant’Angelo Cavaradossi is led to the roof of the Castel Sant’Angelo to await execution. He bribes a guard to allow him to write a letter to Tosca. He is overcome with grief as he writes his farewell. Tosca soon arrives and tells him of the arrangement with Scarpia and the fake execution. She coaches Cavaradossi on how to fall realistically (so the guards will not know the execution is staged) and tells Watercolor sketch of Scarpia's room at the Palazzo Farnese from Act II. Painted by Adolfo Hohenstein for the premiere of Tosca. him that she has killed Scarpia. After the execution, Tosca approaches Cavaradossi, complimenting him on his per- room. Once Tosca enters, Scarpia will not stop torturing formance, but soon discovers that he is actually dead! Cavaradossi until Tosca tells him where Angelotti is hid- Scarpia betrayed her. As she hears the guards approaching den. Unable to bear the suffering of Cavaradossi, Tosca to arrest her for murder, she leaps off of the parapet of breaks down and reveals Angelotti’s hiding place. News the Castel Sant’Angelo to her death. arrives that the Battle of Marengo has been won by Napoleon (a defeat to Scarpia’s side), to which Cavaradossi cries, “Vittoria!” Scarpia places Cavaradossi under arrest and sends him to prison to be shot at dawn. Tosca pleads with Scarpia for Cavaradossi’s life. Scarpia agrees to stage a fake execution if Tosca will surrender to him. Scarpia signs the reprieve but secretly has no inten- tion of freeing Cavaradossi. As Scarpia writes Tosca and Cavaradossi a note of free passage out of the state, Tosca realizes that she cannot bear the thought of giving herself to Scarpia. She sees a knife on the dinner table, Tosca Watercolor sketch of the platform of the Castel Sant'Angelo from Act Bloopers III. Painted by Adolfo Hohenstein for the premiere of Tosca. Tosca is full of moments of high drama, high Puccini’s T action, and high notes. Some of these action - packed osca moments (like the execution of CavaradossiTosca at thewhere end things of Bloopers Act III) rely on the precise coordination of actors and crew. Maria Callas’ portrayal of Tosca at Covent There are many stories from productions of Garden in 1962 almost burned down the house! didn’t exactly go as planned. During the second act, she walked too close to the candles burning on Scarpia’s desk and ignited her At the Macerata summer festival in 1995, an overzealous props hair! Scarpia (Tito Gobbi) jumped on Tosca, assistant added too much powder when he loaded the blanks into embraced her, and extinguished the flames with the guns. The blanks pierced Cavaradossi’s (Fabio Armiliato) his gloved hand. Tosca rejected Scarpia with boot as well as his leg. When Tosca (Raina Kabaivanska) ran over to him, she fainted at the sight of the blood. After an disgust but not after whispering a quick hour in surgery, Armiliato was on his way to recovery. “Thank you” to Tito. Five days later, when entering for the beginning of Act II, Armiliato’s crutch slipped, causing a double fracture of the other leg! 3 BIOGRAPHIES The winning team of Puccini, Illica, and Giacosa produced such memorable operas as La Bohème, Madama Butterfly, and Tosca. Illica planned the scenario and drafted the dialogue and then Giacosa put the dialogue into polished verse. Puccini wrote the music. Giacomo Puccini, composer Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Seconda Maria Puccini (December 22, 1858 – November 29, 1924) was born into a poor, but musically talented family in the town of Lucca, Italy. Puccini descended from a long line of musicians, conductors, and composers. Puccini attend- ed his first opera, Aida (by Giuseppe Verdi), in 1876 at the age of 18. This experience ignited his desire to become a composer. He entered the Milan Conservatory of Music on a scholarship arranged by the Queen of Italy. Puccini, Giacosa, and Illica in 1885 Puccini’s career as an opera composer was secured in 1893 with the premiere of his third opera, Manon Lescaut. with the melodramatic opera Il vassallo di Szigeth, written From then on, he was recognized as one of the greatest for Italian composer Antonio Smareglia. His association composers in Italy. The more substantial his success, the with Puccini began three years later when he completed grander his personality and tastes became. He built a rep- the libretto for Manon Lescaut, Puccini’s first commercial utation as an excellent hunter, a collector of cars, and a success. For Puccini’s next three operas (La Bohème, Tosca, great romantic figure. “I am always in love!” he once and Madama Butterfly), Illica wrote the dialogue, while declared. Puccini also had a fascination with the techno- Giuseppe Giacosa transposed it into verse. Illica is credited logical advances of the day, and was involved in one of with writing 35 libretti and was one of the earliest libret- the first car crashes in Italy. Like many of his heroes and tists to devise his own plots, rather than basing his opera heroines, Puccini had his own torrid love affair. His affair stories on existing works. with Elvira Gemignani attracted much attention from the Giuseppe Giacosa, librettist public. The two eloped, but were not officially married until the death of her husband. Elvira and Giacomo were Giuseppe Giacosa (October 21, 1847 – September 1, an odd pair and were eventually the center of scandal 1906) was born in Colleretto Parella, Italy. He received a when Elvira accused a young maid of having an affair law degree from Turin University and joined his father’s with Puccini. The maid committed suicide and Elvira was legal practice until the success of his one-act verse come- jailed for five months for her false accusation. Giacomo dy, Una partita a scacchi (1873). He initially focused on and Elvira separated, and then reconciled, but after con- stylized period drama, though he did write a number of siderable damage was done to their relationship. Puccini prose plays, one of which was written especially for Sarah died of throat cancer just before finishing Turandot, the Bernhardt (see Creating Tosca on page 6). Often regarded opera he considered his crowning achievement. as one of Italy’s leading playwrights at the turn of the twentieth century, Giacosa’s association with Puccini Luigi Illica, librettist began in 1894 at the insistence of the publisher, Giulio Luigi Illica (May 9, 1857 – December 16, 1919) was born Ricordi.