Pappano's Essential Tosca


Pappano's Essential Tosca

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Transcript


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It's been called a shabby little shocker.

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It's seemingly facile storyline has attracted

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all manner of critical abuse.

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But few operas have kept audiences in thrall like this one.

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Giacomo Puccini's Tosca.

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Tosca is the story of a great diva

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as impulsive as she is politically naive.

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Add to this her jealousy and you have a recipe for disaster.

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It's also an evocative portrait of a great city, Rome.

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Like many great stories, Tosca has its basis in real characters

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and real events. Puccini, often using deceptively simple means,

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weaves a musical tapestry that offers highly charged entertainment

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that keeps audiences on the edge of their seats,

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and most importantly, keeps them wanting more.

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Ever since its premiere in Rome in 1900,

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Tosca has rarely been off a stage somewhere in the world.

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That's not surprising,

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because the Opera seems to have everything audiences want.

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Passion,

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violence,

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and tragedy.

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Pure melodrama.

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Giacomo Puccini was the last in a line

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of great Italian opera composers.

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With his talent for combining music with tightly wrought drama,

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he took Italian opera into the 20th century.

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Puccini had already composed Manon Lescaut and La boheme,

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but it was Tosca which saw him in full command of his powers,

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cementing his reputation.

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It also made him a very rich man.

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I'm going to take a closer look at the world behind Tosca,

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and examine what makes Puccini the ultimate dramatist.

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How he creates character, drives the action,

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and how he grips the audience, keeping us enthralled.

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In our production at the Royal Opera House in London,

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we've assembled a cast of international superstars.

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In the title role as Floria Tosca, the Romanian soprano

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Angela Gheorghiu.

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The way Puccini wrote the music,

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his lines, all the time,

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for the three characters,

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he, all the time,

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put the right sound,

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the right power, and the right sensibility.

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With Tosca, he did a masterpiece.

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The German tenor Jonas Kaufmann plays the part of Tosca's lover,

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Mario Cavaradossi.

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It's fantastic how Puccini describes the emotions

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and the soul,

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if you would call it like that,

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of a human being.

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And that was his main target,

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describe the real feelings of real persons.

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Bryn, stretch it, stretch it, stretch it.

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The Welsh bass baritone Bryn Terfel

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plays the Chief of Police, Baron Scarpia,

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one of opera's truly evil characters.

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The role of Scarpia, for me, has that twinge of danger.

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What do I do?

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Do I stride in purposefully?

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Do I have a mean, horrible face?

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No, it's all in the music.

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A stillness within the role of Scarpia, for me,

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I think says a great deal more than giving gestures.

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It's all through the glint of an evil eye.

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But this opera isn't just about the people on stage,

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the other star is Rome, the Eternal City.

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For Puccini, Rome is as important as any of the characters.

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Using three iconic locations

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and music that somehow captures their essence,

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he sets the action within the space of a single day,

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June 17th, 1800.

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This day has real significance in Italian history.

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When news reached Rome of the defeat

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of Napoleon's forces at the Battle of Marengo.

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Napoleon's aim was to impose a single republic

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onto the numerous self-governing states that made up the country.

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What's more, there were some Italians who wanted the same thing.

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The first character we meet is one of them,

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a Republican sympathiser on the run,

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and seeking sanctuary in church.

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This is Sant'Andrea della Valle,

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one of the great landmarks of the city.

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Two Popes are buried here.

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It's one of the largest and most important churches in Rome

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after St Peter's.

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The whole of Act I is set here.

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What could be more theatrical than this vast space

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and its baroque splendour?

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A perfect counterpoint

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to the lurid and profane goings-on of the plot.

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It's midday, and into the church scurries Angelotti,

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who has just escaped from prison.

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Puccini sets the scene superbly,

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catapulting us into an atmosphere of extreme tension.

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Angelotti's sister has concealed the key

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to one of the private chapels for him to hide in.

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It's his escape that is the catalyst for the whole opera.

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But how do fact and fiction meet here?

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Eight private chapels line the nave of Sant'Andrea,

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each dedicated to some of the great aristocratic families

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connected with the church.

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But none of them quite fits the description

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of the Attavanti Chapel in Tosca.

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However, this is the Barberini Chapel.

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It is the only chapel

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that is separated from the main body of the church

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by an iron grille.

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This is more like it.

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And, over here, we have another iron grille.

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This leads to the crypt of the Barberini family.

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Surely, Angelotti would have hidden down there.

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Angelotti's fear of being caught was a very real concern

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in Rome at the end of the 18th century.

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So far, the church had been the main influence ensuring that

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the city was stable and relatively prosperous.

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But after the French Revolution,

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Republican zeal spread.

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The Pope was eventually forced to flee

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and Rome was declared a republic with its own Roman consul.

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In Tosca, this is the character of Angelotti.

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But most Romans didn't want a republic, and it collapsed.

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With the power vacuum, the King of Naples seized control,

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installing a brutal secret police to keep order.

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Paranoia and fear stalked the streets.

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It was in this Rome that we find our hero, the young noble and artist,

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Mario Cavaradossi.

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Cavaradossi has come to Rome.

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He has fallen in love with the singer Floria Tosca,

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and he's a liberal.

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He's a follower of Bonaparte and the Republican ideas.

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But we get to know him through this music.

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A much more romantic music...

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..with a stalwart feel,

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majesty, impetuosity.

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He unveils the painting.

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Love music.

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Like most of Puccini's operas,

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Tosca is named after a strong

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but ultimately tragic heroine.

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Tosca's introduction.

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She's a very religious character,

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full of fervour and intensity...

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..in everything she does.

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Passionate, warm, devoted,

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and in love.

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And, of course, what that means,

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we also get to know the other part of her, which is this.

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And listen, if you can guess what the emotion is.

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Did you hear those tremolos?

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One of the main engines of all Italian music is the tremolo

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to create atmosphere.

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But what is it, what is it describing?

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Well, it's describing, of course, jealousy.

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This is the fatal flaw.

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She is incredibly jealous.

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She's a diva. She's a star, in Rome.

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So, perhaps she's allowed all these foibles,

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but in the story,

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this jealousy will destroy her in the end.

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The plot is tightly wound, and every element is significant.

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Cavaradossi has used the girl he saw in the church as the model

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for his painting.

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But when Tosca sees the painting, she flies into a jealous rage,

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falsely suspecting him of taking a rival lover.

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This girl was Angelotti's sister, who, unknown to them,

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had left a key and women's clothes to help her brother's escape.

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Well, Cavaradossi loves her so much, and loves everything,

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including her jealousy, including her outbreaks,

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and it's just, he cannot control.

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It's just there.

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He's so much in love, and that is also very essential, actually,

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for the whole action,

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and for the outcome of the second and third acts.

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The man who exploits Tosca's jealousy is Scarpia.

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And as far as statements of intent go,

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few could be deemed as powerful as the very first chords of the Opera,

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Scarpia's theme, dominating all that follows.

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But what is this music?

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For me, it conjures up the Titanic majesty of Rome,

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the power of the Church,

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and Baron Scarpia's stranglehold

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on political society in Rome.

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Scarpia is drawn from a number of real life characters.

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One of the most significant is a man called Gerardo Curci,

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a bandit known as Sciarpa, meaning scarf or sash,

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after an item of paramilitary clothing.

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He was one of the most murderous of the anti-Republicans,

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and was made a Baron by the King of Naples in 1800.

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Described as a crude figure,

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who exuded loutish cunning and religious hypocrisy,

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he was merciless, working around the fringes of the law.

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Certainly, Scarpia is frightening.

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There are certain colours that you need for the role of Scarpia.

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Is that, does the music... It draws something out of you.

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-It makes you want to go over the top, doesn't it?

-Definitely.

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Any sinister, any misfit, any malcontent on the stage

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tends to make you

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both sing at a different pace that you are used to,

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and maybe your persona on the stage

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becomes more active and more terrifying.

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More sinister. He has to have an air of invincibility.

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You know, he's aristocratic, as well.

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So, everything falls into place within the danger of this role.

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Scarpia doesn't actually appear

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until towards the end of the first act.

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But Puccini has already well established his presence.

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We've heard his theme, but we want to meet him. Where is he?

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Well, Cavaradossi, the painter, introduces him as a bigot,

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a satyr, a confessor, and executioner at the same time.

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And he says these over...

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..the theme, repeated over and over again.

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When he says "confessor and executioner",

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listen to how it changes.

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Now we are ready to meet the real Scarpia.

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Cavaradossi hides Angelotti at his villa.

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Meanwhile, news of Napoleon's defeat at Marengo has reached Rome,

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and a Te Deum is to be sung in celebration.

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Puccini sets the scene

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for one of the most impressive entrances in all opera.

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He allows the innocent joy of choirboys to reach its peak,

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and only then kills it stone dead

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with Scarpia's arrival.

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It's a fabulous theatrical device

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to reinforce his terrifying persona.

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The first act, of course, he has this wonderful introduction.

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Then, very cleverly, but with authority,

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questions the different people on the stage.

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There's nothing much you have to do to gauge a character.

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It's all there in the music, every stride, every step forward,

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every colour of a phrase.

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But when Tosca arrives looking for Cavaradossi,

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the music describes a surprisingly different side

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to Scarpia's character.

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Totally unexpected, out of the blue,

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comes this amazingly insinuating

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but gentle singing from you,

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being the grand seigneur,

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and eliciting a colour from you that is...

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"Where did that come from?" You know? Here she goes, right on the bell.

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Remember, this whole scene is taking part in the church.

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So, you see how Scarpia's music is

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constantly changing,

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constantly impulsive,

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always surprising us.

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Scarpia's insinuating words fire Tosca's jealousy

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so that she'll lead him to Cavaradossi and Angelotti.

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Scarpia now sees a way to fulfil his own lust for Tosca,

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and Puccini uses an extraordinary theatrical device to portray this.

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Act I climaxes with the monumental Te Deum,

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a high hymn of thanksgiving to God,

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which is sung to celebrate the victory at Marengo.

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Having come from generations of church composers,

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Puccini was no stranger to the power of the ritual.

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I went to the heart of Catholic Rome,

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to St Peter's Basilica itself,

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to find out about the importance of the Te Deum.

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Massimo, what function

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does the Te Deum have in the liturgy?

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Puccini certainly knew what he was doing.

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I had a chance to hear the famous Sistine Chapel Choir

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sing a specifically Roman Te Deum.

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Aware of all the elements that could be used to maximum effect,

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Puccini employed the Roman Te Deum

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as one part of a vast ecclesiastical sound world,

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to create an unholy marriage between the sacred and the profane.

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It's an intensely dramatic way of underlining Scarpia

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as someone who is utterly amoral.

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A feature of Puccini's writing for Scarpia

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is that he is the only character

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who sings asides to the audience,

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revealing his innermost thoughts.

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Offsetting Scarpia's words,

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Puccini uses all the tricks at his disposal.

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Underpinning it all,

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the ritual tolling of bells.

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This is oppressive, repetitive music, that starts quietly

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and builds layer by layer.

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The long strings, the woodwinds, the organ, cannons from offstage.

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Still softly building.

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Very lustful, isn't it?

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Yes, and it builds and builds, weaving and weaving...

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The way you say your name always, and hers together, enjoy them both.

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..Tosca.

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Fabulous.

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Now a new effect, the rhythmic muttering of devout voices.

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Like Iago in Verdi's Otello, he confesses his evil

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and manipulative nature.

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In church, he conjures up the image of Angelotti on the scaffold,

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and at the same time,

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the image of Tosca in his arms.

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It's amazing, you've got the setting, the church,

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the service that's going on, and you, lusting.

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It's almost masturbatory.

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I mean, it's frightening that this could happen, and this juxtaposition

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of church and lust, this is what the whole piece is about, actually.

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With the climax of the Te Deum, the stage is set

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for the bloody and gruesome events that inevitably follow.

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But like so many of his operas,

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Puccini found inspiration from someone else's work.

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Were it not for Puccini,

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the name Victorien Sardou

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would be just a historical footnote.

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In the late 19th century,

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Sardou was one of the most famous playwrights alive,

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having 70 plays to his name.

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His masterwork...La Tosca.

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In 1889, Puccini had seen La Tosca twice,

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and both times starring the greatest actress of the day,

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the flamboyant and charismatic Sarah Bernhardt.

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Tosca had everything Puccini wanted.

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Intensely dramatic situations, violent and raw,

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that you could easily get a handle on,

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and crucially, at its heart, a heroine,

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a passionate, fiery, yet ultimately tragic heroine.

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This was the clincher.

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It fired Puccini's imagination

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and he set out to reduce Sardou's

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five plot-heavy acts

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to a lean, finely-honed three.

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For this, his publisher, Ricordi,

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assembled the dream team behind Puccini's most recent success,

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La boheme, the librettists Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa.

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Between them, they did such a good job

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that Sardou himself declared

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that the libretto was dramatically superior to the play.

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And Puccini certainly ratchets up the drama in Act II, which is set

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in one of Italy's finest Renaissance buildings, the Palazzo Farnese.

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Now the French Embassy in Rome, it was once home to Popes, Queens,

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and briefly, the King of Naples.

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The perfect setting for Scarpia's headquarters.

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Astonishing.

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I've conducted Tosca so many times,

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but to actually be in the room

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where the heart of the Opera takes place

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is, for me, a...is just an amazing moment, actually.

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The walls are covered by these stunning Florentine frescoes,

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celebrating the Farnese family's fidelity towards the church.

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How ironic it is that this

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should be where Scarpia conducts his business.

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Time has passed and it's now later in the evening of the same day.

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The mood has changed, too. Now it is darker, almost claustrophobic.

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One of Puccini's great skills is that he crafts the action

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and the music so very precisely.

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There's a tremendous economy to his writing.

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It's almost lean.

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Everything happens

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just when it's supposed to happen.

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Having hidden Angelotti,

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Cavaradossi tells Tosca everything

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before Scarpia's henchmen get their hands on him.

0:31:080:31:11

Puccini then uses the sound of a concert given by Tosca

0:31:130:31:17

offstage to heighten the tension onstage.

0:31:170:31:21

It's often been said

0:31:360:31:37

that Puccini was the creator

0:31:370:31:39

of what would become the cinematographic soundtrack,

0:31:390:31:42

and I think theatricality, in all senses,

0:31:420:31:46

is enhanced by music that is so descriptive,

0:31:460:31:50

and so telling,

0:31:500:31:51

that it reaches the audience with an immediacy that is palpable.

0:31:510:31:57

Listen to this music, for instance,

0:31:570:31:59

as Cavaradossi is brought to the torture chamber.

0:31:590:32:02

Having summoned Tosca,

0:32:080:32:10

Scarpia hopes that the torture of Cavaradossi

0:32:100:32:13

will force her to reveal Angelotti's hiding place.

0:32:130:32:15

Listen to the dark colours.

0:32:180:32:20

You can imagine the place already, from the sound of the celli...

0:32:200:32:24

..and the violas.

0:32:250:32:27

Using the open strings to give that bite and snarl.

0:32:360:32:42

What could be more filmic than that?

0:32:550:32:58

And what a suggestive, almost Sibelian darkness in this music.

0:32:580:33:04

In so many respects,

0:33:090:33:10

Tosca anticipates the world of film,

0:33:100:33:12

and at two hours, it runs just like a film.

0:33:120:33:15

Many of the ideas that Puccini employs can be

0:33:180:33:21

found in the music of film composers today.

0:33:210:33:24

I went to the world-famous Cinecitta film studios in Rome

0:33:330:33:36

to meet Ennio Morricone,

0:33:360:33:37

composer of the iconic score

0:33:370:33:39

to The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly,

0:33:390:33:41

and a great Puccini fan.

0:33:410:33:43

Nowhere does this have more impact than in the scene where

0:34:390:34:42

Puccini depicts Tosca's torment,

0:34:420:34:44

whilst in a room offstage,

0:34:440:34:46

Cavaradossi is being brutally tortured.

0:34:460:34:49

Puccini takes this torture music now

0:34:570:35:01

and enhances it, as Scarpia's describing Cavaradossi with

0:35:010:35:05

a rim around his head with nails in it that will be tightened

0:35:050:35:09

so that there'll be blood spatter,

0:35:090:35:12

so he talks and gives the information.

0:35:120:35:14

Listen to the blood spatter of the trumpets

0:35:140:35:17

in this musical enhancement.

0:35:170:35:20

Tell me where Angelotti is.

0:35:320:35:34

She writhes in agony.

0:35:410:35:43

And brings her to the top C.

0:35:460:35:49

This certainly satisfies our animal instincts,

0:36:170:36:20

this music of a rare violence.

0:36:200:36:22

In fact, Herbert Von Karajan said,

0:36:220:36:24

it helps, once a year, for a conductor to conduct Tosca

0:36:240:36:28

to...just to let all his...baser instincts be released, if you like.

0:36:280:36:32

Eventually, it's too much for Tosca,

0:36:380:36:40

and she gives away Angelotti's hiding place.

0:36:400:36:43

MAN SCREAMS

0:36:430:36:46

Sometimes, it's good not to know some information.

0:36:530:36:56

-Well, he's a master at that.

-It is a master.

0:36:560:36:59

He is a master at knowing how to actually put pressure on you.

0:36:590:37:02

-And, in fact, it works. You do spill the information.

-Yes, I spill. Ah...

0:37:020:37:06

-And this.

-This is, I don't, I never...

0:37:060:37:09

-It's a betrayal.

-Yes, it is.

0:37:090:37:11

But, you know, in Tosca, I never like this.

0:37:110:37:14

When I saw for the first time, I was so upset. "No, don't, ah!

0:37:140:37:18

-"No, you must not. How could you?"

-Yeah.

0:37:190:37:23

-But she did, because he knew it, how to do it. How to...

-Yeah.

0:37:230:37:28

..to take the information from her.

0:37:280:37:30

It's impossible not to understand the feeling

0:37:300:37:33

we have as an opera singer.

0:37:330:37:36

This is the first role we play ourselves, I mean,

0:37:360:37:39

I play myself, in a way.

0:37:390:37:41

The sheer emotional force of the role,

0:37:450:37:47

and the turmoil Tosca goes through,

0:37:470:37:49

demands of the singer her full range of interpretive powers.

0:37:490:37:54

Since its premiere,

0:38:040:38:05

the role of Tosca has become one of the iconic operatic characters,

0:38:050:38:10

one that almost defines a singer's greatness.

0:38:100:38:13

One of the legendary Toscas was the brilliant

0:38:150:38:18

and notoriously temperamental Maria Callas.

0:38:180:38:21

With her own turbulent and colourful life,

0:38:210:38:24

she almost created the image of the great diva.

0:38:240:38:29

Lover of millionaires and famous for her fiery temper,

0:38:370:38:41

she ended up deserted and heartbroken.

0:38:410:38:44

But behind the public figure

0:38:460:38:48

lay a fastidious and extremely hard-working professional,

0:38:480:38:52

famous for her attention to the finest detail,

0:38:520:38:55

for leaving no stone unturned

0:38:550:38:56

in the pursuit to find the heart of a role.

0:38:560:38:59

Here she is with the great baritone

0:39:040:39:07

Tito Gobbi as Scarpia,

0:39:070:39:08

in a 1964 performance from Covent Garden.

0:39:080:39:11

Cavaradossi is condemned to death,

0:39:160:39:19

but Scarpia gives Tosca a terrible choice.

0:39:190:39:22

Submit to his sexual advances and Cavaradossi will live.

0:39:220:39:27

Out of this desperate situation emerges one of Puccini's most

0:39:270:39:31

moving arias for soprano.

0:39:310:39:33

Curiously, this now famous aria,

0:40:270:40:29

Vissi d'arte,

0:40:290:40:30

wasn't even planned to be in the opera.

0:40:300:40:32

But during rehearsals for the premiere,

0:40:370:40:39

the soprano singing Tosca,

0:40:390:40:41

Hariclea Darclee, a Romanian, like Angela,

0:40:410:40:44

had a bit of a diva moment herself.

0:40:440:40:46

When Hariclea Darclee starts singing the role, Hariclea says,

0:40:500:40:55

"Maestro, I have no aria, and it's me, Tosca!"

0:40:550:41:00

And thanks to her,

0:41:000:41:02

I always said,

0:41:020:41:03

because I'm proud about this

0:41:030:41:06

because she's a Romanian soprano.

0:41:060:41:07

Finally, he composed

0:41:070:41:09

Vissi d'arte. Vissi d'amore.

0:41:090:41:11

Initially, Puccini wasn't convinced,

0:41:310:41:33

as he feared it would slow down the action.

0:41:330:41:36

But there is no doubt that it adds to the drama.

0:41:360:41:39

A fervent yet disillusioned prayer before Fate strikes.

0:41:390:41:44

Grazie, Angela.

0:42:510:42:52

Scarpia agrees to issue a safe-conduct pass,

0:43:000:43:03

providing Cavaradossi goes through the pretence of a mock execution,

0:43:030:43:09

and Tosca satisfies his lust.

0:43:090:43:11

Everything is very important within the storytelling.

0:43:150:43:20

This is a genius of Puccini, in a way, that he's giving you such

0:43:200:43:23

dramatic intensity.

0:43:230:43:25

So, it has everything.

0:43:250:43:27

Even the death has to be entertaining for people.

0:43:270:43:31

By letting the action play in real-time,

0:43:370:43:39

Puccini, again,

0:43:390:43:41

brilliantly strings out the game of cat and mouse

0:43:410:43:43

to heighten the nervous tension.

0:43:430:43:45

How will Tosca resolve this dilemma?

0:43:470:43:49

And there in the music is Tosca's answer.

0:44:090:44:12

And it's something this great diva

0:44:130:44:15

would never have dreamed herself capable of

0:44:150:44:18

even an hour earlier.

0:44:180:44:20

It's before dawn the following morning

0:45:340:45:37

and I've come to the Castel Sant'Angelo,

0:45:370:45:40

where the third Act of Tosca is set,

0:45:400:45:42

and where Cavaradossi is awaiting execution.

0:45:420:45:45

Tosca eventually makes her way here,

0:45:500:45:52

with the pass securing the safe conduct for her and her lover.

0:45:520:45:56

From these ramparts,

0:45:580:46:00

you really get a sense of the geography of the city,

0:46:000:46:03

and how it fits in with the opera.

0:46:030:46:05

Just over my shoulder

0:46:080:46:09

is the Sant'Andrea della Valle church,

0:46:090:46:12

where Act I takes place,

0:46:120:46:14

and just hidden behind there

0:46:140:46:16

is the Farnese Palace of Act II,

0:46:160:46:18

so the distances are very, very short, actually.

0:46:180:46:22

It's a very tight feel.

0:46:220:46:23

You can imagine Tosca running here

0:46:250:46:27

after she has murdered Scarpia.

0:46:270:46:29

The Castel Sant'Angelo is one of Rome's most imposing landmarks,

0:46:350:46:40

once home to the papal guard, and their prisoners.

0:46:400:46:44

For centuries, it has symbolised the fusion of Church and State.

0:46:440:46:49

The dawn breaking music at the beginning of Act III

0:46:510:46:55

is where Puccini really establishes Rome

0:46:550:46:57

as its own character in the opera.

0:46:570:46:59

What he does is to create yet another cinematic effect,

0:47:020:47:06

a musical soundscape that vividly captures its majesty and atmosphere.

0:47:060:47:11

Underpinning a sighing melody is the sound of bells,

0:47:140:47:19

but myriad bells,

0:47:190:47:20

the sound of Roman bells sounding the matins.

0:47:200:47:23

It is alleged he came here

0:47:230:47:25

to hear for himself how this would have sounded.

0:47:250:47:29

To recreate the sense of perspective,

0:47:420:47:45

Puccini was very particular with his requirements.

0:47:450:47:48

To realise Puccini's intentions,

0:47:510:47:53

we set up four percussion players

0:47:530:47:55

at the back of the stage in different positions,

0:47:550:47:58

near and far, and they have different pitched bells,

0:47:580:48:03

and the first bell,

0:48:030:48:04

the B natural here,

0:48:040:48:06

is marked lontanissimo, very far away.

0:48:060:48:09

This next bell is a little closer, meno lontano.

0:48:130:48:18

Now this bell, vicino, it's marked.

0:48:230:48:25

Near.

0:48:250:48:28

It was considered quite unusual, and strange,

0:48:590:49:03

the actual sounds of the city

0:49:030:49:06

superimposed onto music.

0:49:060:49:09

What was this?

0:49:090:49:11

And at the time, it was quite controversial.

0:49:110:49:14

But what a stunning effect.

0:49:140:49:16

Puccini was meticulous in researching

0:49:210:49:23

the actual pitches of the bells he heard,

0:49:230:49:25

even enlisting the help of a religious music expert,

0:49:250:49:28

who found out that the great bell of St Peter's, the Er Campanone,

0:49:280:49:32

produced just the sound he needed.

0:49:320:49:36

The new day finds Cavaradossi being led from his cell

0:49:570:50:01

to face the firing squad.

0:50:010:50:03

The music now prepares us for perhaps

0:50:030:50:06

the opera's most celebrated aria.

0:50:060:50:08

In setting up Cavaradossi's aria,

0:50:120:50:15

E lucevan le stelle,

0:50:150:50:16

an aria which is about memories of the good times,

0:50:160:50:21

but also the feeling of impending doom,

0:50:210:50:24

his impending death,

0:50:240:50:26

Puccini creates, and it's very, very special, a pathos, here,

0:50:260:50:30

using four cellos.

0:50:300:50:32

This is a tradition to create intimacy of expression,

0:50:320:50:37

already used by Verdi in Otello,

0:50:370:50:39

at the beginning of William Tell, of Rossini.

0:50:390:50:43

So it's an Italian form of creating something new and special.

0:50:430:50:50

Using the love music.

0:50:550:50:57

It's perfectly set up by Puccini.

0:51:110:51:13

It's always this question,

0:51:130:51:15

how can you manage to be in this mood?

0:51:150:51:17

To really be in this frustrating,

0:51:170:51:22

but at the same time,

0:51:220:51:24

still deeply loving moment of love and regret.

0:51:240:51:30

The answer is very simple, just listen to the music.

0:51:300:51:33

This leads into a remarkable new theme.

0:51:410:51:44

The aria is written perfectly.

0:52:190:52:22

That's the secret. I mean,

0:52:220:52:23

that's the magic that lies between the lines.

0:52:230:52:25

He guides you exactly to the right spot.

0:52:250:52:29

Cavaradossi is remembering a night of love with Tosca,

0:52:540:52:58

and what's striking is that the melody is in the orchestra,

0:52:580:53:01

the words are almost spoken.

0:53:010:53:03

And there's this moment in the aria which I find always very beautiful

0:53:130:53:18

because then he drops his mask of heroism,

0:53:180:53:22

and you suddenly reveal a normal human being

0:53:220:53:26

that is afraid of death.

0:53:260:53:28

-Big hug while I'm in climax.

-Yes.

0:54:130:54:15

Tosca arrives with Scarpia's safe-conduct pass

0:54:160:54:19

and shows it to Cavaradossi.

0:54:190:54:21

But the precise moment

0:54:220:54:25

when he realises that he won't escape alive

0:54:250:54:28

has always been a source of debate and interpretation...

0:54:280:54:31

..something we discussed in rehearsals.

0:54:320:54:34

There's a discussion going on about

0:54:520:54:55

how much Cavaradossi knows about what's really going to happen,

0:54:550:55:01

and Jonas is communicating to Angela here

0:55:010:55:05

that at the moment she says

0:55:050:55:07

there's going to be a simulated execution,

0:55:070:55:11

he realises, he knows

0:55:110:55:13

that Scarpia would never agree to something like this,

0:55:130:55:17

the oppression of his regime,

0:55:170:55:19

the manipulation,

0:55:190:55:21

it would never work, and,

0:55:210:55:23

somehow to humour her,

0:55:230:55:25

he goes along with it

0:55:250:55:27

and he goes along with her hope.

0:55:270:55:30

Almost to the very end,

0:55:380:55:39

Tosca believes that it's all just playacting.

0:55:390:55:43

Strangely, when Tosca premiered in Rome in 1900,

0:56:040:56:07

real-life events echoed the opera's historical setting.

0:56:070:56:11

The economic situation in Italy was bad. Anarchist groups flourished,

0:56:130:56:18

and there had been riots in the North and South.

0:56:180:56:22

It was a pretty tense time.

0:56:220:56:24

The unrest caused the premiere to be postponed by a day,

0:56:260:56:30

and on the first night, there was a rumour of a bomb scare.

0:56:300:56:32

But it turned out to be a false alarm and the performance went ahead.

0:56:340:56:39

The moment when I see the blood, I realise

0:56:530:56:56

I had no other solution than to kill myself.

0:56:560:57:01

I had no time to think.

0:57:020:57:06

It was just an instinct.

0:57:060:57:08

The public loved it.

0:57:340:57:35

Several numbers were encored, and there was a rapturous

0:57:350:57:38

ovation for Puccini himself at the final curtain.

0:57:380:57:42

With Tosca, Puccini's reputation

0:57:440:57:46

as THE Italian opera composer was secure.

0:57:460:57:49

Over the next quarter century, the masterpieces continued to flow,

0:57:510:57:56

operas like Madama Butterfly

0:57:560:57:58

and Turandot joined Tosca as worldwide hits.

0:57:580:58:01

Puccini's airtight musical dramas, still dominated though

0:58:030:58:08

by his astonishing melodic invention,

0:58:080:58:10

established the template for what makes a successful opera.

0:58:100:58:15

I love conducting this music,

0:58:150:58:17

and I love this city, Rome.

0:58:170:58:21

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

0:58:320:58:35

E-mail [email protected]

0:58:350:58:39

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