0:00:08 > 0:00:11It's been called a shabby little shocker.
0:00:11 > 0:00:14It's seemingly facile storyline has attracted
0:00:14 > 0:00:16all manner of critical abuse.
0:00:16 > 0:00:21But few operas have kept audiences in thrall like this one.
0:00:21 > 0:00:24Giacomo Puccini's Tosca.
0:00:27 > 0:00:30Tosca is the story of a great diva
0:00:30 > 0:00:34as impulsive as she is politically naive.
0:00:34 > 0:00:38Add to this her jealousy and you have a recipe for disaster.
0:00:42 > 0:00:47It's also an evocative portrait of a great city, Rome.
0:00:57 > 0:01:01Like many great stories, Tosca has its basis in real characters
0:01:01 > 0:01:07and real events. Puccini, often using deceptively simple means,
0:01:07 > 0:01:11weaves a musical tapestry that offers highly charged entertainment
0:01:11 > 0:01:14that keeps audiences on the edge of their seats,
0:01:14 > 0:01:18and most importantly, keeps them wanting more.
0:01:39 > 0:01:43Ever since its premiere in Rome in 1900,
0:01:43 > 0:01:46Tosca has rarely been off a stage somewhere in the world.
0:01:49 > 0:01:51That's not surprising,
0:01:51 > 0:01:54because the Opera seems to have everything audiences want.
0:01:54 > 0:01:56Passion,
0:01:56 > 0:02:00violence,
0:02:00 > 0:02:02and tragedy.
0:02:02 > 0:02:03Pure melodrama.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09Giacomo Puccini was the last in a line
0:02:09 > 0:02:11of great Italian opera composers.
0:02:11 > 0:02:15With his talent for combining music with tightly wrought drama,
0:02:15 > 0:02:18he took Italian opera into the 20th century.
0:02:21 > 0:02:25Puccini had already composed Manon Lescaut and La boheme,
0:02:25 > 0:02:29but it was Tosca which saw him in full command of his powers,
0:02:29 > 0:02:31cementing his reputation.
0:02:31 > 0:02:36It also made him a very rich man.
0:02:38 > 0:02:43I'm going to take a closer look at the world behind Tosca,
0:02:43 > 0:02:46and examine what makes Puccini the ultimate dramatist.
0:02:49 > 0:02:53How he creates character, drives the action,
0:02:53 > 0:02:56and how he grips the audience, keeping us enthralled.
0:02:58 > 0:03:01In our production at the Royal Opera House in London,
0:03:01 > 0:03:04we've assembled a cast of international superstars.
0:03:08 > 0:03:11In the title role as Floria Tosca, the Romanian soprano
0:03:11 > 0:03:12Angela Gheorghiu.
0:03:19 > 0:03:21The way Puccini wrote the music,
0:03:21 > 0:03:24his lines, all the time,
0:03:24 > 0:03:27for the three characters,
0:03:27 > 0:03:29he, all the time,
0:03:29 > 0:03:31put the right sound,
0:03:31 > 0:03:35the right power, and the right sensibility.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41With Tosca, he did a masterpiece.
0:03:50 > 0:03:54The German tenor Jonas Kaufmann plays the part of Tosca's lover,
0:03:54 > 0:03:57Mario Cavaradossi.
0:04:00 > 0:04:04It's fantastic how Puccini describes the emotions
0:04:04 > 0:04:05and the soul,
0:04:05 > 0:04:07if you would call it like that,
0:04:07 > 0:04:08of a human being.
0:04:24 > 0:04:26And that was his main target,
0:04:26 > 0:04:33describe the real feelings of real persons.
0:04:46 > 0:04:48Bryn, stretch it, stretch it, stretch it.
0:04:48 > 0:04:51The Welsh bass baritone Bryn Terfel
0:04:51 > 0:04:54plays the Chief of Police, Baron Scarpia,
0:04:54 > 0:04:57one of opera's truly evil characters.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04The role of Scarpia, for me, has that twinge of danger.
0:05:08 > 0:05:09What do I do?
0:05:09 > 0:05:12Do I stride in purposefully?
0:05:12 > 0:05:15Do I have a mean, horrible face?
0:05:15 > 0:05:17No, it's all in the music.
0:05:17 > 0:05:20A stillness within the role of Scarpia, for me,
0:05:20 > 0:05:26I think says a great deal more than giving gestures.
0:05:26 > 0:05:31It's all through the glint of an evil eye.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54But this opera isn't just about the people on stage,
0:05:54 > 0:05:57the other star is Rome, the Eternal City.
0:06:03 > 0:06:06For Puccini, Rome is as important as any of the characters.
0:06:06 > 0:06:09Using three iconic locations
0:06:09 > 0:06:12and music that somehow captures their essence,
0:06:12 > 0:06:16he sets the action within the space of a single day,
0:06:16 > 0:06:18June 17th, 1800.
0:06:25 > 0:06:28This day has real significance in Italian history.
0:06:28 > 0:06:30When news reached Rome of the defeat
0:06:30 > 0:06:34of Napoleon's forces at the Battle of Marengo.
0:06:35 > 0:06:38Napoleon's aim was to impose a single republic
0:06:38 > 0:06:43onto the numerous self-governing states that made up the country.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46What's more, there were some Italians who wanted the same thing.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50The first character we meet is one of them,
0:06:50 > 0:06:53a Republican sympathiser on the run,
0:06:53 > 0:06:55and seeking sanctuary in church.
0:07:00 > 0:07:02This is Sant'Andrea della Valle,
0:07:02 > 0:07:05one of the great landmarks of the city.
0:07:07 > 0:07:09Two Popes are buried here.
0:07:09 > 0:07:13It's one of the largest and most important churches in Rome
0:07:13 > 0:07:14after St Peter's.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17The whole of Act I is set here.
0:07:21 > 0:07:25What could be more theatrical than this vast space
0:07:25 > 0:07:27and its baroque splendour?
0:07:27 > 0:07:29A perfect counterpoint
0:07:29 > 0:07:33to the lurid and profane goings-on of the plot.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44It's midday, and into the church scurries Angelotti,
0:07:44 > 0:07:47who has just escaped from prison.
0:07:47 > 0:07:48Puccini sets the scene superbly,
0:07:48 > 0:07:52catapulting us into an atmosphere of extreme tension.
0:08:18 > 0:08:21Angelotti's sister has concealed the key
0:08:21 > 0:08:25to one of the private chapels for him to hide in.
0:08:26 > 0:08:30It's his escape that is the catalyst for the whole opera.
0:08:33 > 0:08:35But how do fact and fiction meet here?
0:08:37 > 0:08:40Eight private chapels line the nave of Sant'Andrea,
0:08:40 > 0:08:43each dedicated to some of the great aristocratic families
0:08:43 > 0:08:44connected with the church.
0:08:46 > 0:08:48But none of them quite fits the description
0:08:48 > 0:08:50of the Attavanti Chapel in Tosca.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57However, this is the Barberini Chapel.
0:08:57 > 0:08:59It is the only chapel
0:08:59 > 0:09:02that is separated from the main body of the church
0:09:02 > 0:09:04by an iron grille.
0:09:05 > 0:09:06This is more like it.
0:09:09 > 0:09:12And, over here, we have another iron grille.
0:09:12 > 0:09:15This leads to the crypt of the Barberini family.
0:09:15 > 0:09:19Surely, Angelotti would have hidden down there.
0:09:22 > 0:09:25Angelotti's fear of being caught was a very real concern
0:09:25 > 0:09:28in Rome at the end of the 18th century.
0:09:30 > 0:09:34So far, the church had been the main influence ensuring that
0:09:34 > 0:09:38the city was stable and relatively prosperous.
0:09:38 > 0:09:40But after the French Revolution,
0:09:40 > 0:09:42Republican zeal spread.
0:09:43 > 0:09:46The Pope was eventually forced to flee
0:09:46 > 0:09:50and Rome was declared a republic with its own Roman consul.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55In Tosca, this is the character of Angelotti.
0:10:01 > 0:10:05But most Romans didn't want a republic, and it collapsed.
0:10:05 > 0:10:08With the power vacuum, the King of Naples seized control,
0:10:08 > 0:10:12installing a brutal secret police to keep order.
0:10:12 > 0:10:16Paranoia and fear stalked the streets.
0:10:18 > 0:10:23It was in this Rome that we find our hero, the young noble and artist,
0:10:23 > 0:10:25Mario Cavaradossi.
0:10:26 > 0:10:28Cavaradossi has come to Rome.
0:10:28 > 0:10:31He has fallen in love with the singer Floria Tosca,
0:10:31 > 0:10:33and he's a liberal.
0:10:33 > 0:10:37He's a follower of Bonaparte and the Republican ideas.
0:10:37 > 0:10:41But we get to know him through this music.
0:10:44 > 0:10:45A much more romantic music...
0:10:47 > 0:10:48..with a stalwart feel,
0:10:48 > 0:10:52majesty, impetuosity.
0:10:55 > 0:10:57He unveils the painting.
0:10:57 > 0:10:59Love music.
0:11:10 > 0:11:13Like most of Puccini's operas,
0:11:13 > 0:11:15Tosca is named after a strong
0:11:15 > 0:11:17but ultimately tragic heroine.
0:11:26 > 0:11:28Tosca's introduction.
0:11:29 > 0:11:33She's a very religious character,
0:11:33 > 0:11:36full of fervour and intensity...
0:11:38 > 0:11:40..in everything she does.
0:11:40 > 0:11:45Passionate, warm, devoted,
0:11:45 > 0:11:47and in love.
0:11:51 > 0:11:52And, of course, what that means,
0:11:52 > 0:11:55we also get to know the other part of her, which is this.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58And listen, if you can guess what the emotion is.
0:12:17 > 0:12:18Did you hear those tremolos?
0:12:18 > 0:12:22One of the main engines of all Italian music is the tremolo
0:12:22 > 0:12:24to create atmosphere.
0:12:24 > 0:12:26But what is it, what is it describing?
0:12:26 > 0:12:28Well, it's describing, of course, jealousy.
0:12:28 > 0:12:30This is the fatal flaw.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33She is incredibly jealous.
0:12:33 > 0:12:37She's a diva. She's a star, in Rome.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40So, perhaps she's allowed all these foibles,
0:12:40 > 0:12:41but in the story,
0:12:41 > 0:12:45this jealousy will destroy her in the end.
0:12:51 > 0:12:56The plot is tightly wound, and every element is significant.
0:12:56 > 0:13:01Cavaradossi has used the girl he saw in the church as the model
0:13:01 > 0:13:03for his painting.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06But when Tosca sees the painting, she flies into a jealous rage,
0:13:06 > 0:13:09falsely suspecting him of taking a rival lover.
0:13:35 > 0:13:39This girl was Angelotti's sister, who, unknown to them,
0:13:39 > 0:13:43had left a key and women's clothes to help her brother's escape.
0:13:46 > 0:13:51Well, Cavaradossi loves her so much, and loves everything,
0:13:51 > 0:13:55including her jealousy, including her outbreaks,
0:13:55 > 0:13:58and it's just, he cannot control.
0:13:58 > 0:13:59It's just there.
0:14:32 > 0:14:36He's so much in love, and that is also very essential, actually,
0:14:36 > 0:14:37for the whole action,
0:14:37 > 0:14:40and for the outcome of the second and third acts.
0:14:44 > 0:14:47The man who exploits Tosca's jealousy is Scarpia.
0:14:50 > 0:14:52And as far as statements of intent go,
0:14:52 > 0:14:57few could be deemed as powerful as the very first chords of the Opera,
0:14:57 > 0:15:00Scarpia's theme, dominating all that follows.
0:15:14 > 0:15:16But what is this music?
0:15:16 > 0:15:21For me, it conjures up the Titanic majesty of Rome,
0:15:21 > 0:15:24the power of the Church,
0:15:24 > 0:15:28and Baron Scarpia's stranglehold
0:15:28 > 0:15:31on political society in Rome.
0:15:36 > 0:15:39Scarpia is drawn from a number of real life characters.
0:15:39 > 0:15:43One of the most significant is a man called Gerardo Curci,
0:15:43 > 0:15:47a bandit known as Sciarpa, meaning scarf or sash,
0:15:47 > 0:15:50after an item of paramilitary clothing.
0:15:50 > 0:15:54He was one of the most murderous of the anti-Republicans,
0:15:54 > 0:15:58and was made a Baron by the King of Naples in 1800.
0:15:58 > 0:16:01Described as a crude figure,
0:16:01 > 0:16:04who exuded loutish cunning and religious hypocrisy,
0:16:04 > 0:16:08he was merciless, working around the fringes of the law.
0:16:12 > 0:16:14Certainly, Scarpia is frightening.
0:16:14 > 0:16:18There are certain colours that you need for the role of Scarpia.
0:16:18 > 0:16:21Is that, does the music... It draws something out of you.
0:16:21 > 0:16:24- It makes you want to go over the top, doesn't it?- Definitely.
0:16:24 > 0:16:29Any sinister, any misfit, any malcontent on the stage
0:16:29 > 0:16:31tends to make you
0:16:31 > 0:16:35both sing at a different pace that you are used to,
0:16:35 > 0:16:37and maybe your persona on the stage
0:16:37 > 0:16:41becomes more active and more terrifying.
0:16:41 > 0:16:47More sinister. He has to have an air of invincibility.
0:16:47 > 0:16:50You know, he's aristocratic, as well.
0:16:50 > 0:16:54So, everything falls into place within the danger of this role.
0:16:58 > 0:17:00Scarpia doesn't actually appear
0:17:00 > 0:17:03until towards the end of the first act.
0:17:03 > 0:17:08But Puccini has already well established his presence.
0:17:08 > 0:17:12We've heard his theme, but we want to meet him. Where is he?
0:17:12 > 0:17:18Well, Cavaradossi, the painter, introduces him as a bigot,
0:17:18 > 0:17:24a satyr, a confessor, and executioner at the same time.
0:17:24 > 0:17:27And he says these over...
0:17:30 > 0:17:33..the theme, repeated over and over again.
0:17:44 > 0:17:46When he says "confessor and executioner",
0:17:46 > 0:17:47listen to how it changes.
0:17:55 > 0:17:58Now we are ready to meet the real Scarpia.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03Cavaradossi hides Angelotti at his villa.
0:18:03 > 0:18:08Meanwhile, news of Napoleon's defeat at Marengo has reached Rome,
0:18:08 > 0:18:10and a Te Deum is to be sung in celebration.
0:18:11 > 0:18:13Puccini sets the scene
0:18:13 > 0:18:17for one of the most impressive entrances in all opera.
0:18:17 > 0:18:20He allows the innocent joy of choirboys to reach its peak,
0:18:20 > 0:18:23and only then kills it stone dead
0:18:23 > 0:18:26with Scarpia's arrival.
0:18:26 > 0:18:28It's a fabulous theatrical device
0:18:28 > 0:18:31to reinforce his terrifying persona.
0:19:04 > 0:19:09The first act, of course, he has this wonderful introduction.
0:19:09 > 0:19:13Then, very cleverly, but with authority,
0:19:13 > 0:19:17questions the different people on the stage.
0:19:35 > 0:19:39There's nothing much you have to do to gauge a character.
0:19:39 > 0:19:43It's all there in the music, every stride, every step forward,
0:19:43 > 0:19:45every colour of a phrase.
0:19:52 > 0:19:55But when Tosca arrives looking for Cavaradossi,
0:19:55 > 0:19:59the music describes a surprisingly different side
0:19:59 > 0:20:00to Scarpia's character.
0:20:02 > 0:20:04Totally unexpected, out of the blue,
0:20:04 > 0:20:08comes this amazingly insinuating
0:20:08 > 0:20:10but gentle singing from you,
0:20:10 > 0:20:12being the grand seigneur,
0:20:12 > 0:20:16and eliciting a colour from you that is...
0:20:16 > 0:20:21"Where did that come from?" You know? Here she goes, right on the bell.
0:20:22 > 0:20:25Remember, this whole scene is taking part in the church.
0:20:49 > 0:20:52So, you see how Scarpia's music is
0:20:52 > 0:20:55constantly changing,
0:20:55 > 0:20:56constantly impulsive,
0:20:56 > 0:20:57always surprising us.
0:21:07 > 0:21:10Scarpia's insinuating words fire Tosca's jealousy
0:21:10 > 0:21:14so that she'll lead him to Cavaradossi and Angelotti.
0:21:32 > 0:21:36Scarpia now sees a way to fulfil his own lust for Tosca,
0:21:36 > 0:21:41and Puccini uses an extraordinary theatrical device to portray this.
0:21:43 > 0:21:46Act I climaxes with the monumental Te Deum,
0:21:46 > 0:21:49a high hymn of thanksgiving to God,
0:21:49 > 0:21:53which is sung to celebrate the victory at Marengo.
0:21:55 > 0:21:58Having come from generations of church composers,
0:21:58 > 0:22:03Puccini was no stranger to the power of the ritual.
0:22:03 > 0:22:05I went to the heart of Catholic Rome,
0:22:05 > 0:22:07to St Peter's Basilica itself,
0:22:07 > 0:22:09to find out about the importance of the Te Deum.
0:22:20 > 0:22:22Massimo, what function
0:22:22 > 0:22:24does the Te Deum have in the liturgy?
0:22:55 > 0:22:57Puccini certainly knew what he was doing.
0:22:59 > 0:23:02I had a chance to hear the famous Sistine Chapel Choir
0:23:02 > 0:23:04sing a specifically Roman Te Deum.
0:23:43 > 0:23:48Aware of all the elements that could be used to maximum effect,
0:23:48 > 0:23:50Puccini employed the Roman Te Deum
0:23:50 > 0:23:53as one part of a vast ecclesiastical sound world,
0:23:53 > 0:23:58to create an unholy marriage between the sacred and the profane.
0:24:01 > 0:24:05It's an intensely dramatic way of underlining Scarpia
0:24:05 > 0:24:07as someone who is utterly amoral.
0:24:11 > 0:24:14A feature of Puccini's writing for Scarpia
0:24:14 > 0:24:16is that he is the only character
0:24:16 > 0:24:19who sings asides to the audience,
0:24:19 > 0:24:21revealing his innermost thoughts.
0:24:26 > 0:24:28Offsetting Scarpia's words,
0:24:28 > 0:24:31Puccini uses all the tricks at his disposal.
0:24:32 > 0:24:34Underpinning it all,
0:24:34 > 0:24:36the ritual tolling of bells.
0:24:52 > 0:24:54This is oppressive, repetitive music, that starts quietly
0:24:54 > 0:24:57and builds layer by layer.
0:24:57 > 0:25:02The long strings, the woodwinds, the organ, cannons from offstage.
0:25:15 > 0:25:17Still softly building.
0:25:24 > 0:25:25Very lustful, isn't it?
0:25:25 > 0:25:29Yes, and it builds and builds, weaving and weaving...
0:25:34 > 0:25:40The way you say your name always, and hers together, enjoy them both.
0:25:40 > 0:25:42..Tosca.
0:25:43 > 0:25:45Fabulous.
0:25:46 > 0:25:50Now a new effect, the rhythmic muttering of devout voices.
0:25:53 > 0:25:58Like Iago in Verdi's Otello, he confesses his evil
0:25:58 > 0:26:01and manipulative nature.
0:26:01 > 0:26:05In church, he conjures up the image of Angelotti on the scaffold,
0:26:05 > 0:26:07and at the same time,
0:26:07 > 0:26:09the image of Tosca in his arms.
0:26:23 > 0:26:26It's amazing, you've got the setting, the church,
0:26:26 > 0:26:30the service that's going on, and you, lusting.
0:26:30 > 0:26:32It's almost masturbatory.
0:26:32 > 0:26:36I mean, it's frightening that this could happen, and this juxtaposition
0:26:36 > 0:26:40of church and lust, this is what the whole piece is about, actually.
0:27:30 > 0:27:33With the climax of the Te Deum, the stage is set
0:27:33 > 0:27:37for the bloody and gruesome events that inevitably follow.
0:27:41 > 0:27:43But like so many of his operas,
0:27:43 > 0:27:46Puccini found inspiration from someone else's work.
0:27:48 > 0:27:50Were it not for Puccini,
0:27:50 > 0:27:51the name Victorien Sardou
0:27:51 > 0:27:54would be just a historical footnote.
0:27:55 > 0:27:58In the late 19th century,
0:27:58 > 0:28:01Sardou was one of the most famous playwrights alive,
0:28:01 > 0:28:03having 70 plays to his name.
0:28:03 > 0:28:06His masterwork...La Tosca.
0:28:12 > 0:28:16In 1889, Puccini had seen La Tosca twice,
0:28:16 > 0:28:18and both times starring the greatest actress of the day,
0:28:18 > 0:28:22the flamboyant and charismatic Sarah Bernhardt.
0:28:26 > 0:28:28Tosca had everything Puccini wanted.
0:28:28 > 0:28:31Intensely dramatic situations, violent and raw,
0:28:31 > 0:28:34that you could easily get a handle on,
0:28:34 > 0:28:37and crucially, at its heart, a heroine,
0:28:37 > 0:28:42a passionate, fiery, yet ultimately tragic heroine.
0:28:42 > 0:28:43This was the clincher.
0:28:47 > 0:28:49It fired Puccini's imagination
0:28:49 > 0:28:51and he set out to reduce Sardou's
0:28:51 > 0:28:53five plot-heavy acts
0:28:53 > 0:28:55to a lean, finely-honed three.
0:29:01 > 0:29:04For this, his publisher, Ricordi,
0:29:04 > 0:29:07assembled the dream team behind Puccini's most recent success,
0:29:07 > 0:29:12La boheme, the librettists Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa.
0:29:14 > 0:29:16Between them, they did such a good job
0:29:16 > 0:29:17that Sardou himself declared
0:29:17 > 0:29:20that the libretto was dramatically superior to the play.
0:29:26 > 0:29:30And Puccini certainly ratchets up the drama in Act II, which is set
0:29:30 > 0:29:34in one of Italy's finest Renaissance buildings, the Palazzo Farnese.
0:29:38 > 0:29:42Now the French Embassy in Rome, it was once home to Popes, Queens,
0:29:42 > 0:29:45and briefly, the King of Naples.
0:29:45 > 0:29:49The perfect setting for Scarpia's headquarters.
0:29:54 > 0:29:57Astonishing.
0:29:57 > 0:29:59I've conducted Tosca so many times,
0:29:59 > 0:30:01but to actually be in the room
0:30:01 > 0:30:05where the heart of the Opera takes place
0:30:05 > 0:30:08is, for me, a...is just an amazing moment, actually.
0:30:13 > 0:30:18The walls are covered by these stunning Florentine frescoes,
0:30:18 > 0:30:23celebrating the Farnese family's fidelity towards the church.
0:30:24 > 0:30:25How ironic it is that this
0:30:25 > 0:30:29should be where Scarpia conducts his business.
0:30:32 > 0:30:36Time has passed and it's now later in the evening of the same day.
0:30:37 > 0:30:42The mood has changed, too. Now it is darker, almost claustrophobic.
0:30:45 > 0:30:49One of Puccini's great skills is that he crafts the action
0:30:49 > 0:30:53and the music so very precisely.
0:30:53 > 0:30:57There's a tremendous economy to his writing.
0:30:57 > 0:30:58It's almost lean.
0:30:58 > 0:30:59Everything happens
0:30:59 > 0:31:02just when it's supposed to happen.
0:31:04 > 0:31:06Having hidden Angelotti,
0:31:06 > 0:31:08Cavaradossi tells Tosca everything
0:31:08 > 0:31:11before Scarpia's henchmen get their hands on him.
0:31:13 > 0:31:17Puccini then uses the sound of a concert given by Tosca
0:31:17 > 0:31:21offstage to heighten the tension onstage.
0:31:36 > 0:31:37It's often been said
0:31:37 > 0:31:39that Puccini was the creator
0:31:39 > 0:31:42of what would become the cinematographic soundtrack,
0:31:42 > 0:31:46and I think theatricality, in all senses,
0:31:46 > 0:31:50is enhanced by music that is so descriptive,
0:31:50 > 0:31:51and so telling,
0:31:51 > 0:31:57that it reaches the audience with an immediacy that is palpable.
0:31:57 > 0:31:59Listen to this music, for instance,
0:31:59 > 0:32:02as Cavaradossi is brought to the torture chamber.
0:32:08 > 0:32:10Having summoned Tosca,
0:32:10 > 0:32:13Scarpia hopes that the torture of Cavaradossi
0:32:13 > 0:32:15will force her to reveal Angelotti's hiding place.
0:32:18 > 0:32:20Listen to the dark colours.
0:32:20 > 0:32:24You can imagine the place already, from the sound of the celli...
0:32:25 > 0:32:27..and the violas.
0:32:36 > 0:32:42Using the open strings to give that bite and snarl.
0:32:55 > 0:32:58What could be more filmic than that?
0:32:58 > 0:33:04And what a suggestive, almost Sibelian darkness in this music.
0:33:09 > 0:33:10In so many respects,
0:33:10 > 0:33:12Tosca anticipates the world of film,
0:33:12 > 0:33:15and at two hours, it runs just like a film.
0:33:18 > 0:33:21Many of the ideas that Puccini employs can be
0:33:21 > 0:33:24found in the music of film composers today.
0:33:33 > 0:33:36I went to the world-famous Cinecitta film studios in Rome
0:33:36 > 0:33:37to meet Ennio Morricone,
0:33:37 > 0:33:39composer of the iconic score
0:33:39 > 0:33:41to The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly,
0:33:41 > 0:33:43and a great Puccini fan.
0:34:39 > 0:34:42Nowhere does this have more impact than in the scene where
0:34:42 > 0:34:44Puccini depicts Tosca's torment,
0:34:44 > 0:34:46whilst in a room offstage,
0:34:46 > 0:34:49Cavaradossi is being brutally tortured.
0:34:57 > 0:35:01Puccini takes this torture music now
0:35:01 > 0:35:05and enhances it, as Scarpia's describing Cavaradossi with
0:35:05 > 0:35:09a rim around his head with nails in it that will be tightened
0:35:09 > 0:35:12so that there'll be blood spatter,
0:35:12 > 0:35:14so he talks and gives the information.
0:35:14 > 0:35:17Listen to the blood spatter of the trumpets
0:35:17 > 0:35:20in this musical enhancement.
0:35:32 > 0:35:34Tell me where Angelotti is.
0:35:41 > 0:35:43She writhes in agony.
0:35:46 > 0:35:49And brings her to the top C.
0:36:17 > 0:36:20This certainly satisfies our animal instincts,
0:36:20 > 0:36:22this music of a rare violence.
0:36:22 > 0:36:24In fact, Herbert Von Karajan said,
0:36:24 > 0:36:28it helps, once a year, for a conductor to conduct Tosca
0:36:28 > 0:36:32to...just to let all his...baser instincts be released, if you like.
0:36:38 > 0:36:40Eventually, it's too much for Tosca,
0:36:40 > 0:36:43and she gives away Angelotti's hiding place.
0:36:43 > 0:36:46MAN SCREAMS
0:36:53 > 0:36:56Sometimes, it's good not to know some information.
0:36:56 > 0:36:59- Well, he's a master at that.- It is a master.
0:36:59 > 0:37:02He is a master at knowing how to actually put pressure on you.
0:37:02 > 0:37:06- And, in fact, it works. You do spill the information.- Yes, I spill. Ah...
0:37:06 > 0:37:09- And this. - This is, I don't, I never...
0:37:09 > 0:37:11- It's a betrayal.- Yes, it is.
0:37:11 > 0:37:14But, you know, in Tosca, I never like this.
0:37:14 > 0:37:18When I saw for the first time, I was so upset. "No, don't, ah!
0:37:19 > 0:37:23- "No, you must not. How could you?" - Yeah.
0:37:23 > 0:37:28- But she did, because he knew it, how to do it. How to...- Yeah.
0:37:28 > 0:37:30..to take the information from her.
0:37:30 > 0:37:33It's impossible not to understand the feeling
0:37:33 > 0:37:36we have as an opera singer.
0:37:36 > 0:37:39This is the first role we play ourselves, I mean,
0:37:39 > 0:37:41I play myself, in a way.
0:37:45 > 0:37:47The sheer emotional force of the role,
0:37:47 > 0:37:49and the turmoil Tosca goes through,
0:37:49 > 0:37:54demands of the singer her full range of interpretive powers.
0:38:04 > 0:38:05Since its premiere,
0:38:05 > 0:38:10the role of Tosca has become one of the iconic operatic characters,
0:38:10 > 0:38:13one that almost defines a singer's greatness.
0:38:15 > 0:38:18One of the legendary Toscas was the brilliant
0:38:18 > 0:38:21and notoriously temperamental Maria Callas.
0:38:21 > 0:38:24With her own turbulent and colourful life,
0:38:24 > 0:38:29she almost created the image of the great diva.
0:38:37 > 0:38:41Lover of millionaires and famous for her fiery temper,
0:38:41 > 0:38:44she ended up deserted and heartbroken.
0:38:46 > 0:38:48But behind the public figure
0:38:48 > 0:38:52lay a fastidious and extremely hard-working professional,
0:38:52 > 0:38:55famous for her attention to the finest detail,
0:38:55 > 0:38:56for leaving no stone unturned
0:38:56 > 0:38:59in the pursuit to find the heart of a role.
0:39:04 > 0:39:07Here she is with the great baritone
0:39:07 > 0:39:08Tito Gobbi as Scarpia,
0:39:08 > 0:39:11in a 1964 performance from Covent Garden.
0:39:16 > 0:39:19Cavaradossi is condemned to death,
0:39:19 > 0:39:22but Scarpia gives Tosca a terrible choice.
0:39:22 > 0:39:27Submit to his sexual advances and Cavaradossi will live.
0:39:27 > 0:39:31Out of this desperate situation emerges one of Puccini's most
0:39:31 > 0:39:33moving arias for soprano.
0:40:27 > 0:40:29Curiously, this now famous aria,
0:40:29 > 0:40:30Vissi d'arte,
0:40:30 > 0:40:32wasn't even planned to be in the opera.
0:40:37 > 0:40:39But during rehearsals for the premiere,
0:40:39 > 0:40:41the soprano singing Tosca,
0:40:41 > 0:40:44Hariclea Darclee, a Romanian, like Angela,
0:40:44 > 0:40:46had a bit of a diva moment herself.
0:40:50 > 0:40:55When Hariclea Darclee starts singing the role, Hariclea says,
0:40:55 > 0:41:00"Maestro, I have no aria, and it's me, Tosca!"
0:41:00 > 0:41:02And thanks to her,
0:41:02 > 0:41:03I always said,
0:41:03 > 0:41:06because I'm proud about this
0:41:06 > 0:41:07because she's a Romanian soprano.
0:41:07 > 0:41:09Finally, he composed
0:41:09 > 0:41:11Vissi d'arte. Vissi d'amore.
0:41:31 > 0:41:33Initially, Puccini wasn't convinced,
0:41:33 > 0:41:36as he feared it would slow down the action.
0:41:36 > 0:41:39But there is no doubt that it adds to the drama.
0:41:39 > 0:41:44A fervent yet disillusioned prayer before Fate strikes.
0:42:51 > 0:42:52Grazie, Angela.
0:43:00 > 0:43:03Scarpia agrees to issue a safe-conduct pass,
0:43:03 > 0:43:09providing Cavaradossi goes through the pretence of a mock execution,
0:43:09 > 0:43:11and Tosca satisfies his lust.
0:43:15 > 0:43:20Everything is very important within the storytelling.
0:43:20 > 0:43:23This is a genius of Puccini, in a way, that he's giving you such
0:43:23 > 0:43:25dramatic intensity.
0:43:25 > 0:43:27So, it has everything.
0:43:27 > 0:43:31Even the death has to be entertaining for people.
0:43:37 > 0:43:39By letting the action play in real-time,
0:43:39 > 0:43:41Puccini, again,
0:43:41 > 0:43:43brilliantly strings out the game of cat and mouse
0:43:43 > 0:43:45to heighten the nervous tension.
0:43:47 > 0:43:49How will Tosca resolve this dilemma?
0:44:09 > 0:44:12And there in the music is Tosca's answer.
0:44:13 > 0:44:15And it's something this great diva
0:44:15 > 0:44:18would never have dreamed herself capable of
0:44:18 > 0:44:20even an hour earlier.
0:45:34 > 0:45:37It's before dawn the following morning
0:45:37 > 0:45:40and I've come to the Castel Sant'Angelo,
0:45:40 > 0:45:42where the third Act of Tosca is set,
0:45:42 > 0:45:45and where Cavaradossi is awaiting execution.
0:45:50 > 0:45:52Tosca eventually makes her way here,
0:45:52 > 0:45:56with the pass securing the safe conduct for her and her lover.
0:45:58 > 0:46:00From these ramparts,
0:46:00 > 0:46:03you really get a sense of the geography of the city,
0:46:03 > 0:46:05and how it fits in with the opera.
0:46:08 > 0:46:09Just over my shoulder
0:46:09 > 0:46:12is the Sant'Andrea della Valle church,
0:46:12 > 0:46:14where Act I takes place,
0:46:14 > 0:46:16and just hidden behind there
0:46:16 > 0:46:18is the Farnese Palace of Act II,
0:46:18 > 0:46:22so the distances are very, very short, actually.
0:46:22 > 0:46:23It's a very tight feel.
0:46:25 > 0:46:27You can imagine Tosca running here
0:46:27 > 0:46:29after she has murdered Scarpia.
0:46:35 > 0:46:40The Castel Sant'Angelo is one of Rome's most imposing landmarks,
0:46:40 > 0:46:44once home to the papal guard, and their prisoners.
0:46:44 > 0:46:49For centuries, it has symbolised the fusion of Church and State.
0:46:51 > 0:46:55The dawn breaking music at the beginning of Act III
0:46:55 > 0:46:57is where Puccini really establishes Rome
0:46:57 > 0:46:59as its own character in the opera.
0:47:02 > 0:47:06What he does is to create yet another cinematic effect,
0:47:06 > 0:47:11a musical soundscape that vividly captures its majesty and atmosphere.
0:47:14 > 0:47:19Underpinning a sighing melody is the sound of bells,
0:47:19 > 0:47:20but myriad bells,
0:47:20 > 0:47:23the sound of Roman bells sounding the matins.
0:47:23 > 0:47:25It is alleged he came here
0:47:25 > 0:47:29to hear for himself how this would have sounded.
0:47:42 > 0:47:45To recreate the sense of perspective,
0:47:45 > 0:47:48Puccini was very particular with his requirements.
0:47:51 > 0:47:53To realise Puccini's intentions,
0:47:53 > 0:47:55we set up four percussion players
0:47:55 > 0:47:58at the back of the stage in different positions,
0:47:58 > 0:48:03near and far, and they have different pitched bells,
0:48:03 > 0:48:04and the first bell,
0:48:04 > 0:48:06the B natural here,
0:48:06 > 0:48:09is marked lontanissimo, very far away.
0:48:13 > 0:48:18This next bell is a little closer, meno lontano.
0:48:23 > 0:48:25Now this bell, vicino, it's marked.
0:48:25 > 0:48:28Near.
0:48:59 > 0:49:03It was considered quite unusual, and strange,
0:49:03 > 0:49:06the actual sounds of the city
0:49:06 > 0:49:09superimposed onto music.
0:49:09 > 0:49:11What was this?
0:49:11 > 0:49:14And at the time, it was quite controversial.
0:49:14 > 0:49:16But what a stunning effect.
0:49:21 > 0:49:23Puccini was meticulous in researching
0:49:23 > 0:49:25the actual pitches of the bells he heard,
0:49:25 > 0:49:28even enlisting the help of a religious music expert,
0:49:28 > 0:49:32who found out that the great bell of St Peter's, the Er Campanone,
0:49:32 > 0:49:36produced just the sound he needed.
0:49:57 > 0:50:01The new day finds Cavaradossi being led from his cell
0:50:01 > 0:50:03to face the firing squad.
0:50:03 > 0:50:06The music now prepares us for perhaps
0:50:06 > 0:50:08the opera's most celebrated aria.
0:50:12 > 0:50:15In setting up Cavaradossi's aria,
0:50:15 > 0:50:16E lucevan le stelle,
0:50:16 > 0:50:21an aria which is about memories of the good times,
0:50:21 > 0:50:24but also the feeling of impending doom,
0:50:24 > 0:50:26his impending death,
0:50:26 > 0:50:30Puccini creates, and it's very, very special, a pathos, here,
0:50:30 > 0:50:32using four cellos.
0:50:32 > 0:50:37This is a tradition to create intimacy of expression,
0:50:37 > 0:50:39already used by Verdi in Otello,
0:50:39 > 0:50:43at the beginning of William Tell, of Rossini.
0:50:43 > 0:50:50So it's an Italian form of creating something new and special.
0:50:55 > 0:50:57Using the love music.
0:51:11 > 0:51:13It's perfectly set up by Puccini.
0:51:13 > 0:51:15It's always this question,
0:51:15 > 0:51:17how can you manage to be in this mood?
0:51:17 > 0:51:22To really be in this frustrating,
0:51:22 > 0:51:24but at the same time,
0:51:24 > 0:51:30still deeply loving moment of love and regret.
0:51:30 > 0:51:33The answer is very simple, just listen to the music.
0:51:41 > 0:51:44This leads into a remarkable new theme.
0:52:19 > 0:52:22The aria is written perfectly.
0:52:22 > 0:52:23That's the secret. I mean,
0:52:23 > 0:52:25that's the magic that lies between the lines.
0:52:25 > 0:52:29He guides you exactly to the right spot.
0:52:54 > 0:52:58Cavaradossi is remembering a night of love with Tosca,
0:52:58 > 0:53:01and what's striking is that the melody is in the orchestra,
0:53:01 > 0:53:03the words are almost spoken.
0:53:13 > 0:53:18And there's this moment in the aria which I find always very beautiful
0:53:18 > 0:53:22because then he drops his mask of heroism,
0:53:22 > 0:53:26and you suddenly reveal a normal human being
0:53:26 > 0:53:28that is afraid of death.
0:54:13 > 0:54:15- Big hug while I'm in climax.- Yes.
0:54:16 > 0:54:19Tosca arrives with Scarpia's safe-conduct pass
0:54:19 > 0:54:21and shows it to Cavaradossi.
0:54:22 > 0:54:25But the precise moment
0:54:25 > 0:54:28when he realises that he won't escape alive
0:54:28 > 0:54:31has always been a source of debate and interpretation...
0:54:32 > 0:54:34..something we discussed in rehearsals.
0:54:52 > 0:54:55There's a discussion going on about
0:54:55 > 0:55:01how much Cavaradossi knows about what's really going to happen,
0:55:01 > 0:55:05and Jonas is communicating to Angela here
0:55:05 > 0:55:07that at the moment she says
0:55:07 > 0:55:11there's going to be a simulated execution,
0:55:11 > 0:55:13he realises, he knows
0:55:13 > 0:55:17that Scarpia would never agree to something like this,
0:55:17 > 0:55:19the oppression of his regime,
0:55:19 > 0:55:21the manipulation,
0:55:21 > 0:55:23it would never work, and,
0:55:23 > 0:55:25somehow to humour her,
0:55:25 > 0:55:27he goes along with it
0:55:27 > 0:55:30and he goes along with her hope.
0:55:38 > 0:55:39Almost to the very end,
0:55:39 > 0:55:43Tosca believes that it's all just playacting.
0:56:04 > 0:56:07Strangely, when Tosca premiered in Rome in 1900,
0:56:07 > 0:56:11real-life events echoed the opera's historical setting.
0:56:13 > 0:56:18The economic situation in Italy was bad. Anarchist groups flourished,
0:56:18 > 0:56:22and there had been riots in the North and South.
0:56:22 > 0:56:24It was a pretty tense time.
0:56:26 > 0:56:30The unrest caused the premiere to be postponed by a day,
0:56:30 > 0:56:32and on the first night, there was a rumour of a bomb scare.
0:56:34 > 0:56:39But it turned out to be a false alarm and the performance went ahead.
0:56:53 > 0:56:56The moment when I see the blood, I realise
0:56:56 > 0:57:01I had no other solution than to kill myself.
0:57:02 > 0:57:06I had no time to think.
0:57:06 > 0:57:08It was just an instinct.
0:57:34 > 0:57:35The public loved it.
0:57:35 > 0:57:38Several numbers were encored, and there was a rapturous
0:57:38 > 0:57:42ovation for Puccini himself at the final curtain.
0:57:44 > 0:57:46With Tosca, Puccini's reputation
0:57:46 > 0:57:49as THE Italian opera composer was secure.
0:57:51 > 0:57:56Over the next quarter century, the masterpieces continued to flow,
0:57:56 > 0:57:58operas like Madama Butterfly
0:57:58 > 0:58:01and Turandot joined Tosca as worldwide hits.
0:58:03 > 0:58:08Puccini's airtight musical dramas, still dominated though
0:58:08 > 0:58:10by his astonishing melodic invention,
0:58:10 > 0:58:15established the template for what makes a successful opera.
0:58:15 > 0:58:17I love conducting this music,
0:58:17 > 0:58:21and I love this city, Rome.
0:58:32 > 0:58:35Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:58:35 > 0:58:39E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk