Tosca 
| |
|---|---|
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| Composer | Giacomo Puccini |
| Librettist | Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa |
| Premiere | Teatro Costanzi, Roma, Italy 1900, January 14 |
| Language | Italian |
| Acts | 3 |
Tosca is a 3 act opera composed by Giacomo Puccini. It is based on a play by the name of La Tosca.
Characters[]
Roles and vocal type:
| Character Name | Occupation of Character | Vocal Type |
|---|---|---|
| Floria Tosca | Singer | Soprano |
| Mario Cavaradossi | Painter | Tenor |
|
Baron Scarpia |
Chief of Police | Baritone |
| Cesare Angelotti | former Consul of the Roman Republic | Bass |
| Spoletta | Police Agent | Tenor |
| Sciarrone | Gendarme | Bass |
| n/a | Sacristan | Baritone |
| n/a | Shepherd Boy | Alto |
| n/a | Jailer | Bass |
| n/a | Various Background Characters | n/a |
Plot[]
The plot revolves around the struggle of Tosca and Cavaradossi. It starts in the afternoon of June 17, 1800 and ends in the morning of the next day. During this time, Napoleon was fighting in Italy.
Act One[]
The first act begins with Angelotti running into Sant'Andrea Della Valle, a cathedral in Rome where the first act takes place. He had just broken out of Castel Sant'Angelo. He hides in the Attavanti chapel, of which his sister, Marchesa Attavanti, left him the key. Right after he is in hiding, the sacristan comes in lively. He checks to see if Cavaradossi, who was painting a picture of Mary Magdalene, had arrived yet. While doing that, Cavaradossi walks in and uncovers the painting. The sacristian recognises the woman he is modeling as Mary as Marchesa Attavanti, who was praying very piously in the cathedral. Cavaradossi is unaware of who she is. In the romanza Recondita Armonia, Cavaradossi compared this "unknown" lady to Tosca, his lover. After the sacristan leaves, Cavaradossi and Angelotti meet and talk for a while. Tosca then starts calling for Cavaradossi and Angelotti re-hides. Tosca, having heard Cavaradossi talking, is suspecting that he is seeing someone else. Cavaradossi is quick to rebuke her and denied her claims. Tosca then leaves. Angelotti and Cavaradossi meet again and then run away to Cavaradossi's house after hearing a gunshot announcing a prisoner escaped. Scarpia and Tosca then walk in. Scarpia, both investigating the escape and trying to sleep with Tosca, helps add to Tosca's suspicion that Cavaradossi is cheating. The act ends when Scarpia is singing about his hatred for Angelotti and his lust for Tosca.
Act Two[]
Act two takes place in Palazzo Farnese. It begins with Scarpia wanting to meet with Tosca. When he finally gets to see her, he asks her where Angelotti is. She refuses to tell them. Spoletta, one of Scarpias police officers, returns with Cavaradossi. Scarpia tortures Cavaradossi until Tosca will tell him where Angelotti is. Once she tells him, Cavaradossi is released to her. Having passed out from the torture, he is unaware the Angelotti was found. When he wakes up, Tosca tries to assure him she said nothing until Scarpia interrupts with orders for his men to go to Cavaradossi's well where Angelotti was hiding. This causes Cavaradossi to feel betrayed. This feeling ends once Scarpia gets news that Napoleon won a battle in Italy. He stands up and says "Vittoria" (Victory), and then goes on about how Scarpia is defeated. This causes Scarpia to condemn him to death. Tosca then sings the aria Vissi d'Arte, which talks about her love for Cavaradossi. Spoletta brings news that Angelotti hung himself, and on his way out, Tosca succumbs to Scarpia's request of sex if Cavaradossi would be able to live. Scarpia says to Spoletta to have a fake execution "like Count Palmieri." Spoletta gets the hint that Scarpia is only saying "fake" to appease Tosca and actually decides for Cavaradossi to be killed for real. Tosca, unaware of this deception, requests that Scarpia give her and Cavaradossi a passport to leave Italy. After Scarpia makes the passport, Tosca stabs and kills him.
Act Three[]
Act three takes place in Castle Sant'Angelo. It begins with a sheperd boy singing a song. Cavaradossi is then led up to a jailer, where he is told to wait. The jailer notifies him that he has only one hour before his execution. He makes a final request that he can write a note to Tosca with his final regards on it. He is at first denied, so he offers his ring to the jailer, which convinces him to grant the request. After being overcome with memories and unable to write, Cavaradossi expresses his brokenness in the aria E Lucevan le Stelle. After the aria finishes, Tosca is allowed to see Cavaradossi and they embrace when they meet. Tosca gets Cavaradossi up to date with what happened after he was lead away, and Cavaradossi then speaks about how Tosca killed Scarpia. Tosca informs him that the execution is fake and that they can go home. The hour then is up and Cavaradossi is brought to the shooting crew to be executed. Once he falls down, the executioners leave. Tosca tells him to wait until they are long gone, then tells him to get up. When he doesn't she realizes that the execution was real. The police realize Scarpia is dead and come to arrest Tosca. Once they see her, she throws herself off the castle.