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Home , Cheryl Barker, Giacomo Puccini, La Tosca

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AN Educator’s Guide To

HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE Lesson Ideas offers a unique teaching opportunity—to explore the arts through many different disciplines—from literature and , to history and music. This guide has been designed to provide teachers with sugges- DANCE-MOVEMENT- tions on how to integrate the music and historical background of PHYSICAL EDUCATION-THEATER Puccini’s Tosca into their existing curricula. For applicable National Standards, please contact the Washington National Opera’s Education While composing La Bohème, Puccini and Community Programs Department at 202.448.3466 or at educa- traveled to Florence to see the play La [email protected]. Tosca by the popular French play- wright, . The title WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU GET THERE? role of Tosca was performed by the celebrated actress, . The dress rehearsal of Tosca will begin promptly at 7:00 p.m. Please Bernhardt’s interpretation of Tosca plan to arrive early, as the Opera House doors open 30 minutes prior to inspired Giacomo Puccini’s opera. the start of the performance. Latecomers will be seated only at suitable For the première of Tosca (January 14, breaks in the music—often not until intermission. 1900, Rome), Puccini carefully select- When you arrive at the Kennedy Center Opera House, please have your ed opera singers who could act and dress rehearsal passes ready. Seating at Washington National Opera’s use movement to reinforce and punc- dress rehearsals is open. Please check your ticket for the area of the tuate the action-packed plot. Opera House in which you will sit. Ushers will be available to assist you. Puccini’s Tosca uncovered the very dark side of human nature. With The estimated running time for this rehearsal of Tosca is two hours and Tosca, Puccini created an opera of 31 minutes, with two intermissions. heightened dramatic effect. Besides contracting singers who paid atten- YOUR ROLE IN THE OPERA tion to dramatic nuances, Puccini hired his publisher’s son, Tito Opera is a collaborative art. It requires the work of many people, Ricordi, for the original production of including the director, designer, singer-actors, , technicians, Tosca. Ricordi was a stage director crew, and the audience. The audience is an important part of every per- who took great care over production formance. Your role is to suspend disbelief and imagine that the story elements. He also rehearsed the per- enacted before you is really happening; to let the action and music sur- formers intensely so they would round you, and to become part of the show. To help your students feel understand the depth of their charac- comfortable with their role as operagoers, Washington National Opera ters. Musicologist Saul Lilienstein has has prepared some tips for performance etiquette. Please review “What commented that there are key Will You See?” and “What Do You Wear? And Other Stuff…” (in the moments of well-executed pan- Student Guide) with your students. By following these guidelines, every- one will have a positive experience! continued on page 2 2

Lesson Ideas, continued from page 1 tomime (communication by way of gesture and facial Around the same time as the Rose/Puccini-Ricordi expression) in the best productions of Tosca. scandal, another giant of American song was involved in a legal controversy. Composer of hits such as Ol’ • Watch films or documentaries with your students Man River and Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, Jerome Kern, featuring movement masters from fields as diverse as was the defendant in a case (Fred Fisher, Inc. v. athletics, dance, , and theater such as: Dillingham). The Court found that his song, Kalua, Nadia Comaneci (gymnastics); Mia Hamm (soccer); published in 1921, infringed the copyright of Alvin Ailey, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Merce Dardanella (a popular song in the years 1919 and 1920 Cunningham, Martha Graham (dance); Charlie and one of Billboard’s first Number One hits). Kern’s Chaplin, Buster Keaton (pantomime); Peking fortune was not severely depleted from the outcome of (Beijing) Opera members (theater/opera); and Meryl this case (he had to pay the plaintiff $250) but his Streep (theater). Ask your students to be critical in career was blemished. their viewing and have them lead a discussion about any repeated or signature movements the above peo- In contemporary music such as hip-hop and some ple executed in the films. forms of jazz, “sampling” is common practice, where a portion (such as a melodic phrase) of a recording is • Have your students observe and write down lists of reused as an element in a new recording. Some musi- people’s everyday movements (e.g., walking to the cal groups have violated copyright law, however, by bus, running in the park, lifting groceries, dancing at sampling illegally. A few famous court cases involve a party, laughing at a joke, brushing teeth). Then, the misuse of Beatles and U2 songs, for example. encourage them to use facial expression, movement, and posture to express to their classmates where they • Ask your students to search the Internet for informa- are, who they are, and what they are feeling. tion on that have been the source of inspira- tion for new musical productions. Have them inves- • Challenge: Ask your students to use movement to tigate how the original musical themes have been articulate Cavaradossi’s joy when he learns from reworked to fit a more contemporary context (e.g., Tosca that he will only be subject to a mock execu- the Broadway show and its link to Puccini’s La tion. Then, encourage your students to use move- Bohème; the film Jones and its relationship to ment to express the same scene with an entirely ’s opera, Carmen; the Broadway show different vantage point-where Cavaradossi senses Kismet and its connection to the Russian composer the truth about his impending death but feigns Alexander Borodin). happiness for the sake of his love, Tosca. • Challenge: Encourage your students to research HISTORY-TECHNOLOGY online famous cases of copyright infringement as well as the concept of “fair use.” Have the students prepare Born in 1880 in Palermo, , American composer and a debate (in teams) for both sides of their cases. bandleader Vincent Rose hit it big with his song (lyrics by Al Jolson), Avalon, in 1920. A year later, the estate Set in June 1800, Tosca is positioned in a time of great and the publisher of Puccini’s operas, G. Ricordi, uncertainty and corruption. The shadowy Scarpia rep- claimed that the top-of-the charts sensation was not resents the old regime in Italy that aggressively resisted Rose’s at all. G. Ricordi claimed that the catchy melody the ideals of the and fervently was stolen or plagiarized from Puccini’s famed aria, E championed the idea that power belongs to the state. lucevan le stelle (“And the stars were shining”)— On the other hand, Cavaradosssi, a sculptor and intel- Cavaradossi’s sorrowful farewell aria to Tosca in the lectual, gives voice to the increasingly restless mass of opera’s third act! The Court found in favor of Puccini the people who resented traditional authority. and his publisher. As settlement of this copyright law- • Ask your students to investigate the suit, Puccini and Ricordi were awarded $25,000 in dam- opera’s tumultuous historical con- ages, plus all future royalties text, an era in which to Avalon. It has been said Bonaparte was the most feared (and that Puccini purchased his in some cases, admired) person in first motorboat with some of Europe. Encourage them to com- the money he was awarded pare the Napoleonic age to the late Napoleon Bonaparte. from the copyright case. 19th to early 20th century society in Giacomo Puccini From Puccini From Puccini (Ramsden, which Puccini lived. (Ramsden, Omnibus Omnibus Press, 1996) Press, 1996) continued on page 3 3

HISTORY-TECHNOLOGY MUSIC CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2 Puccini’s musical choices in Tosca (themes, tonal colors, The composer and harmonic structure) were a departure from his ear- (1813-1901) was an integral part of lier works, Lescaut and La Bohème. Rather than Giuseppe Verdi the European Romantic movement projecting a predominantly romantic sound, Tosca is and was an immensely popular figure in his lifetime. filled with sounds that startle and create relentless ten- Verdi was the most important master of sion. From the opening sinister-sounding chords of in Puccini’s youth and early middle-age. Verdi’s La the first three bars in Act I, the audience is roused traviata (1853) introduced the wanton, consumptive immediately. The sound is very heavy. Puccini’s use of heroine to the operatic stage, foreshadowing Puccini’s the brass section and the lower instruments of the La Bohème. Interestingly enough, Verdi once remarked orchestra gives the listener an immediate sense of the that, had he been younger, he would have liked to gravity to come. The initial three-chord motif is heard compose an opera such as Tosca. throughout the opera and becomes associated with the menacing Roman chief of police, Baron Scarpia: Unlike Puccini, however, Verdi was a key individual in the Italian nationalist movement; in Verdi’s 50-year career, he offered significant musical expression to Italian nationalist hopes. He even became a member of the first Italian national parliament. Even further, Verdi’s own name became a political statement; “Viva Verdi” was a national rallying cry-an acronym of “Vittorio Emanuele Re d’Italia” (King of Italy). Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924) focused on his art rather than on • Ask your students to listen closely to Tosca during the dress contemporary politics. It may rehearsal and/or on CD and see if they can identify how seem surprising then, that one of many times this motif appears; sometimes it is obvious his last compositions, Inno di but, at times, it seems to loom just beneath the surface. Roma, was used by as an anthem for the • Challenge: See if your students can determine the Fascist party. Scarpia motif’s harsh-sounding musical interval Giacomo Puccini (augmented fourth).

• Have your students compare and contrast Puccini and The character Tosca, who is at once a religious as well as Verdi. Ask them to specifically focus on the com- an independent, passionate woman (which was an un- th posers’ political views. usual depiction for a female character in the 19 century), sings in Act I of her idyllic country villa (“la nostra caset- • Challenge: Encourage your students to research th ta”) that she visits with her lover. However, even in this artists during the 19 and 20th centuries who were heavenly passage, there are moments of uneasiness. considered subversive due to their political opinions or expressions. Have your students examine how • Encourage your students to discover the musical laps- these artists were treated in light of their beliefs and es in their idyllic relationship, where Floria Tosca’s choices (e.g, censored, blacklisted, interrogated, etc.). jealous nature gets the best of her and where Mario Cavaradossi brings her back to tranquility.

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PUCCINI ON TOSCA Giacomo Puccini remarked that his most popular compositions, Tosca and his preceding work, La Bohème, are operas of a very different color: • “Il colore non è più romantico e lirico, ma sensuale, appassionato e torbido. Non persone buone e amabili, ma individui loschi come Scarpia e Spoletta. E gli eroi non sono docili come Rodolfo e Mimì, ma attivi e coraggiosi.” The plot plays with passions rather than feelings. In Bohème the villain was fate, represented by illness, and the char- acters had to accept it while moving toward an unavoidable ending (there is minimal action on stage). In Tosca both heros and villains are humans who struggle on stage, and you can expect a coup de théâtre at any moment. (general summary—not literal translation—of Puccini’s quote from OperaGlass Software by G. Christen, 1995) 4

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Italian opera in the 19th century was experiencing a parallel narrative-where a seemingly harmless object marked change when Puccini composed Tosca. Taking serves a dramatic purpose. Ask them the question: inspiration from the literary and Naturalism “Which character in Shakespeare’s work plants in the movements led by the French novelist Émile Zola and mind of his ‘friend’ a terrible lie that festers into the others, such as Puccini and even earlier undoing of a romantic relationship and ends in great composers like Bizet supported the operatic tragedy?” (Iago in Othello) movement. Verismo literally means "realism" in Italian. For those supporters of state authority like the corrupt The comical and heroic characters of opera composers Scarpia, the idea of holding religion and authority up like Rossini and Verdi were replaced with everyday peo- to the harsh brightness of the Age of Enlightenment ple. Lush settings were dismissed for gritty back alleys was not only a thing abhorred but a scrutiny feared. and ordinary places. • Have your students analyze the significance of • Have your students find definitions of Verismo opera Scarpia’s depiction of the artist Cavaradossi in Act I: and works in this movement. Ask them to reflect upon what cultural influences moved opera towards this Lui! L’amante di Tosca. Un uom Sospetto! Un volterrian! new “realistic” direction. (Him! Tosca’s lover. A suspected man! A follower of Voltaire!) VISUAL ART

It seems entirely plausible that Puccini’s MATHEMATICS-SCIENCE character, Mario Cavaradossi, could have been inspired by the Italian sculptor Giacomo Puccini demanded authencity and accuracy Giuseppe Ceracchi. Born in Rome in the in Tosca. His relationship with the priest, Father year 1751 and executed in 1801 in Paris Panichelli, was very beneficial. The holy man offered Alexander Hamilton by Puccini advice on church celebrations and costumes by the sharp end of the guillotine, Giuseppe Ceracchi. Gallery,National Portrait Smithsonian Institution Ceracchi is recognized primarily for his Marble. 1794 and assisted him with a chant for the in portrait busts of the heroes of the American Revolution Tosca’s Act I. Their friendship led Puccini to a contact such as Benjamin Franklin and Alexander Hamilton. at the historic St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. The aquain- These marble portraits were completed during Ceracchi’s tance assisted Puccini in deciphering the exact pitch (it two visits to the United States (1791-2 and 1794-5). is a natural mi (E)) of the deep-ringing bell (or cam- parone) in the church’s belfry. This knowledge helped • Ask your students to examine other details of Puccini compose the morning bells music in Act III. Ceracchi’s turbulent life and career that add up to a The use of bells has been intertwined throughout convincing case that he may have been the historical human history as a tool for communication. Not only model for Puccini’s Cavaradossi. have they been utilized in religious worship but bells have also served as musical instruments. Some groups • Challenge: Have your students research what works of of people have used bells as signaling devices to sound Giuseppe Ceracchi’s are found in what room of the warnings, celebrations, or attacks. Many ancient White House. (Hint: These pieces were damaged dur- Chinese bells are more than 3,000 years old. In ing a White House tour in 1998.) Also, encourage Western society, bells became more widely used as your students to find out where Ceracchi’s own portrait musical instruments around the 17th century when lives and the name of the American painter who creat- bell makers began to develop tuning practices. ed the work (Metropolitan Museum, John Trumbull). Scientists, musicians, and bell makers continue to work LANGUAGE ARTS-THEATER together to study bells and the tones they produce. Through holographic interferometry (a branch of sci- In Tosca, there is an intentional reference to ence devoted to the study and measurement of the Shakespeare. More specifically, there is a turning point interaction of waves, such as electromagnetic waves and in the opera where Baron Scarpia realizes that he can acoustic waves) and sound radiation, bell vibrations plant into the already jealous Tosca the idea that her can be observed and studied. Cavaradossi is unfaithful. An innocent fan of another woman becomes the poison. • Ask your students to explore the acoustics of bells. Encourage them to find out if certain materials • Encourage your students to review Shakespearean (e.g, aluminium, bronze) and/or weight make a differ- Tragedy (, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth) to find a ence in how bells sound. 5

SUGGESTED FURTHER LISTENING AND READING Andrea Andermann (prod.). Teldec 90212-3, 1992. VHS (Telecast live and filmed at the actual places of and the chronological time in which the action takes Puccini, Giacomo. La Bohème. Cheryl Barker, David place within the Tosca story.) Hobson, Roger Lemke, et al., The Australian Opera and Puccini, Giacomo. Tosca [Original Recording Ballet Orchestra / Julian Smith (cond.), Remastered]. , Giuseppe di Stefano, Tito (dir.). Image Entertainment 14381191820, 1993. DVD Gobbi, et al., L’Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala/Victor de Puccini, Giacomo. La Bohème. Mirella Freni, Luciano Sabata (cond.). EMI Classics 62893, 2004. CD (2). Pavarotti, et al., Deutschen Staatsopernchor Berlin, Ramsden, Timothy. Puccini. London: Omnibus Press, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra/ 1996. (cond.). Decca 421049, 1990. CD (2) http://www.npr.org/programs/worldofopera/ Puccini, Giacomo. Tosca. , Plácido Domingo (General Director, Washington National Opera), , et al., Coro y Orquesta de la Radio-Televisión de Roma / (cond.),

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BOOKS Composers-Lyricists Database. [available on-line], accessed 6 March 2005. Apel, Willi, and Ralph T. Daniel. The Harvard Brief http://nfo.net/cal/tr8.html Dictionary of Music. New York: Washington Square Press, 1960. Layne, Joslyn. All Music Guide. [Yahoo! Shopping on- line], accessed 4 March 2005. Guinn, John and Les Stone, eds. The St. James Opera http://shopping.yahoo.com/p:Vincent%20Rose:192717 Encyclopedia: A Guide to People and Works. Detroit: 7214:page=biography Visible Ink Press, 1997. Metropolitan Museum of Art website, accessed 6 March Ramsden, Timothy. Puccini. London: Omnibus Press, 2005. 1996. http://www.metmuseum.org Sadie, Stanley, ed. The New Grove Book of Operas. St. Museum Security Network website, accessed 7 March Martin's Press, 1996. 2005. http://www.museum-security.org/reports/00698.html ELECTRONIC MEDIA National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution web- Answers.com website, accessed 6 March 2005. site, accessed 8 March 2005. http://www.answers.com/topic/la-tosca http://www.npg.si.edu/exh/gw/gwexh.htm Bandwidth Market website, accessed 15 March 2005. Rossing, Thomas D. Acoustics of Eastern and Western http://www.bandwidthmarket.com/resources/glossary/ Bells, Old and New. [from “Acoustical Society of I3.html America, 133rd Meeting Lay Language Papers,” avail- Radio Beethoven website, accessed 15 March 2005. able on-line], 1997, accessed 11 March 2005. http://www.beethovenfm.cl/programacion/progra- http://www.russianbells.com/acoustics/rossing.html mas/OPERAS/tosca.act Sagall, Sabby. The People’s Opera. [from Issue 251 of Bryant, Julius. Grove art online. [Oxford, England]: Socialist Review, available on-line], April 2001, accessed Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 8 March 2005. 11 March 2005. http://www.groveart.com http://pubs.socialistreviewindex.org.uk/sr251/sagall.htm Christen, G. OperaGlass. [available on-line via link Tenorissimo website, accessed 15 March 2005. from NPR’s At the Opera: http://www.npr.org/pro- http://www.tenorissimo.com/domingo/vhsopera.htm grams/attheopera/archives/010609.ato.html), 1995, The National Italian American Foundation website, accessed 3 March 2005. accessed 6 March 2005. http://opera.stanford.edu/Puccini/Tosca/backgd.html http://www.niaf.org/research/report_columbus.asp

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LEGAL DOCUMENTS EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY PROGRAMS Fred Fisher, Inc. v. Dillingham, 298 Fed. 145 (United States District Court, Southern District New York, OF WASHINGTON NATIONAL OPERA 1924). ARE MADE POSSIBLE BY THE GENEROUS SUPPORT OF THESE FUNDERS: SCORES as of March 7, 2005 Puccini, Giacomo. Tosca. by Giuseppe $50,000 and above Giacosa and Luigi Illica, New English Version Mr. and Mrs. John Pohanka by Joseph Machlis. New York and Italy: Ricordi (G. National Endowment for the Arts Schirmer). $25,000 and above SOUND RECORDINGS Bank of America Foundation Chevy Chase Bank Lilienstein, Saul (host). Commentaries on CD: Giacomo Fannie Mae Foundation Puccini, Tosca. Washington National Opera (musical Prince Charitable Trust excerpts courtesy of Deutsche Grammophon). CD. $10,000 and above Anonymous Foundation Dominion Jacob and Charlotte Lehrman Foundation NEED MORE INFO? The Washington Post Company Dr. and Mrs. Hans P. Black www.dc-opera.org $5,000 and above Please contact the Education and International Humanities Community Programs of Washington TJX Foundation Washington National Opera Women's Committee National Opera with any questions and/or requests for $2,500 and above additional information at Mr. Walter Arnheim 202.448.3465 or The Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation Target Stores [email protected]. The K.P. and Phoebe Tsolainos Foundation Clarke-Winchcole Foundation

CREDITS $1,000 and above Paul and Annetta Himmelfarb Foundation Horwitz Family Fund Contributors Adina Williams

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Special thanks to Dr. Ellen Miles, Curator of Painting and Sculpture and Dr. Goodyear, Washington National Opera Assistant Curator of Prints and Drawings and staff at the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. Founded in 1956, Washington National Opera is recognized today as one of the leading opera companies in the United States. Under the leadership of General Director Plácido Domingo, Washington National Opera continues to build on its rich history by offering productions of consistently high artistic standards and balancing popular grand opera with new or less frequently performed works.