History
The most controversial and yet the most loved of Puccini's operas
Back in the spring of 1889, Giacomo Puccini expressed to his publisher Ricordi his desire to tackle the then-popular French play La Tosca by Victorien Sardou for his next opera. The play had been written for the great Sarah Bernhardt, who played the part of Tosca in the première in Paris in November 1887, and whom Puccini saw perform the role in Milan in 1890 and again in Florence in 1895.
It appears that for many years after his initial, fervent letter to Ricordi, Puccini shelved the idea of La Tosca as a suitable operatic subject. It was maybe due to the fact that for some time Puccini seriously doubted whether this melodrama suited him at all.
Indeed, it was not until one year after he saw the play for the second time in Florence that he again became intrigued by the idea. By this time, however, a problem had arisen: Sardou had granted the rights to the play to Alberto Franchetti, a relatively minor composer and a nearly complete libretto had been written by Luigi Illica; also Verdi had given the work his stamp of approval. When Ricordi and Illica set out to dissuade him from the project, Franchetti surprisingly put up little resistance and Sardou actually seemed quite anxious to provide Puccini with a subject. The versification was entrusted to Giuseppe Giacosa, who was initially against the project, arguing that there was too much plot and too little room for lyrical expansion. On various occasions he threatened to withdraw from their partnership. He didn't however and by the beginning of 1898 Puccini had the entire libretto in his hands and was able to start work on the first act.
With the aim of inserting authentic local flavour into his music, Puccini made a special journey to Rome especially to hear for himself the effect of the matins bells from the ramparts of the Castel Sant'Angelo (for the introduction in Act III) and to enlist the aid of a priest who could fill him in on details of the liturgy for the Te Deum that concludes Act I. The Roman poet and librarian Luigi Zanazzo, provided suitable verses for the pastoral song sung by the little shepherd at the beginning of Act III. Puccini made certain changes to the libretto before it was completed in 1899. For example he rejected an aria to be sung by Cavaradossi in Act II and insisted on choosing a lover's anguished lament built around the words 'Muoio disperato' to be sung by the painter while he awaits his execution.
After many arguments with his librettists, as usual Puccini got his way. Puccini looked at even the smallest details in order to achieve a near perfect correspondence between stage action and historic reality. Tosca's storyline with its tortures and executions, needed an exact definition of the historical time in order to concentrate attention on the personal dramas of the characters. The news of Bonaparte's surprise victory over the Allies really did reach Rome in much the way that we see it in the opera: By midday on Tuesday, June 17th, a Roman diarist noted with satisfaction that the French were beaten by General Melas, who had retaken Milan. Galimberti reported that the Jacobins (Roman Republicans like Cavaradossi) were discontent and behaved insolently on hearing this news. However, late that night he added that the official notices about Austrian victories over the French in Italy had been amended. A second courier had arrived in the city late on the night of June 17th-18th with news of Bonaparte's surprising victory. Men like Cavaradossi gathered in the fields around the Castel Sant'Angelo to celebrate the victory.
Puccini continued to search for accuracy in the opera while preparing for the première. He insisted that the costume designs (particularly the sacred vestments) be based on research of historical documentation. The designs for the scenes were made by Adolfo Honenstein, the leading artist at the publishing house of Ricordi. The drawings were made from photos of the actual settings provided by Puccini.
Puccini continued to search for accuracy in the opera while preparing for the première. He insisted that the costume designs (particularly the sacred vestments) be based on research of historical documentation. The designs for the scenes were made by Adolfo Honenstein, the leading artist at the publishing house of Ricordi. The drawings were made from photos of the actual settings provided by Puccini.
The opera's première was set for January 14, 1900, at Teatro Costanzi in Rome which was a perfect choice for this very Roman opera. There was a lot of tension in the air on the opening night due to various rumours of a bomb attack and people were afraid for the life of Queen Margherita who was present at the première. Nothing happened, however and Tosca achieved an outstanding success with the Roman public. It remains the only opera in Puccini's oeuvre with which he seemed satisfied at its première. On the other hand, the critics attacked it as a result of, in their opinion, sadistic cruelty which they thought seriously interfered with the composer's inborn lyricism. They were not impressed by the storyline which included deception, murder and suicide. Despite these mixed comments in the press, Tosca was soon introduced into the repertoire of the major opera houses around the world: it was shown in Buenos Aires, London, Constantinople, Rio de Janeiro and Madrid the same year of its première and in Odessa, Lisbon, New York, Mexico City, Santiago and Cairo the following year.
Over the years Tosca has been portrayed by many famous artists. Some of the most outstanding include, Maria Jeritza, Geraldine Farrar, Maria Caniglia and from 1941 Maria Callas, whose first performance in this role took place in Athens. Thereafter her performances with Tito Gobbi as Scarpia became legendary.
None of Puccini's operas has aroused more hostility than Tosca. However, the criticisms have not decreased its enormous appeal to audiences everywhere. Tosca's position in the central repertoire has remained unchanged and is most certainly one of the most loved operas of all times.
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